What A Silly Puppy
by xstaytruex
Summary: Jou doesn't like Seto, and Seto doesn't like Jou. But when Shizuka comes to visit, she forces the two together through her friendship with Mokuba. Does a friendship form, or does their hate just grow stronger? And what happens when Shizuka leaves?
1. Chapter 1

hey guys! well this is it, the first chapter of my story! :3 i feel compelled to warn you that **this is infact the first ever fanfic i've written - and pretty much the first ever story i've written.** :x i'm also new to the site, so i'm not really all that sure on how to use it - but i'm sure i'll get there! ;D

anyway, thank you all for reading, and i promise i'll update it as regularly as i can! **please leave reviews, subscribe, whatever! **i appreciate everything.

- bayonetscars (aka margaret)

xoxox

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**Chapter One - Bacon Sandwiches**

As the morning drew slowly on, the quiet pitter-patter of fragile summer showers against his windowpane, and the gentle, comforting warmth of the sun caressing his cheekbones didn't seem to stir him. The familiar chorus of courting birds and the roars of laughter from exited children likewise proved no match against the boy's slumber; a peaceful and yet persistent rest that had been currently occupying the sixteen year old for over 18 hours. The afternoon was fast approaching: the bustle of impatient town's people below and the mechanical hum of cars was nothing out of the ordinary – a regular occurrence for this time of day.

Glossy amber eyes abruptly opened, eyelids fluttering at the sudden intake of light before clinging once more to his cheekbones, wishing that he hadn't of done that. He tried again, those brilliant amber orbs making their selves apparent once more, but this time in a more relaxed way, pupils dilating slightly as his eyes tried desperately to adjust themselves. A quiet groan ensued, and Katsuya Jounouchi was finally awake. The blonde lay there quietly, basking in the gentle rays of the sun for a few moments more before sitting himself up, the sheets that were currently adorning the boy's body falling away, revealing a pale, bare chest.

After achieving his normal morning necessities (brush teeth, have a shower, get changed, ect), the still rather disorientated blonde dragged himself downstairs. The immediate smell of freshly cooked bacon hit him like a hard slap in the face, his mouth already moist, stomach grumbling in exasperation. He didn't even have to lift his feet: it was almost as if he had floated into the kitchen.

"Oh, Jounouchi!" a shorter female greeted him, placing her spatula down by the sizzling frying pan and heading over to give her older brother a hug. "You're finally awake, I see!" she giggled, releasing her brother from the embrace and rushing back over to the now burning bacon. Jounouchi smiled pleasantly at his sister, leaning against the counter slightly, arms folded across his chest.  
"Morning, Shizuka," the older two of the two replied, the familiar smile of his that he always seemed to adopt whenever he was around his sister now lingering on his lips. Before he even had a chance to ask if he could have some, the brown haired girl was offering him a plate, a more than generous looking bacon sandwich resting on its ceramic surface. Jou blinked a few times in confusion, his poor brain not having enough time to process what had just happened. Shizuka ushered him over to the small, two person sized table at the other end of the kitchen, sitting down next to her older brother after she had retrieved her own plate of sandwich.  
"I thought you might appreciate some breakfast." She laughed after swallowing a mouthful of food. Jounouchi too laughed at this before taking his own bite out of his sandwich. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, the only noise being the quiet munch of crispy bacon being nibbled at.

"How long have I been asleep for?" The blonde asked suddenly whilst halfway through a mouthful of food. Shizuka rolled her eyes playfully at her brother's bad table manners before placing what was left of her sandwich back on her plate.  
"Um... I'm not too sure, but it was a loooong time." She explained, watching contently as her brother finished off his sandwich, pleased that she had a good job with that. Then again, when it came to Jounouchi, he'd pretty much eat anything so it wasn't that much of a complimented, but she decided to look at it in that light anyway. "Did you have another late night, Jou?" she frowned, and the blonde mirrored it. He scrunched his nose up in thought, pushing his now empty plate away as he propped his head up on his hand, trying to think of any realistic excuse he could offer in his defence. Jou didn't want to have to lie to his sister, being the older brother and all and having to set an example, especially since she was only visiting for the next week or so, but at the same time, he didn't want to worry the brown-haired girl with something that, he thought, wasn't that much of a big deal. So he shrugged, glancing back over to Shizuka who was still watching him expectantly.  
"Yeah, I did." The blonde sighed. "School work, etcetera." He explained slowly, making sure he didn't say anything too unbelievable... although the mere concept of him doing homework of all things did seem slightly unrealistic. Thankfully, his sister passed it off as authentic and shrugged, taking both her and Jounouchi's plates back over to the sink.  
"I'm glad to hear that you're taking your school work seriously now, Jou!" the short girl beamed, looking back over her shoulder at her brother who was still hunched over the kitchen table. He smiled dryly at her before also standing, stretching in an almost cat-like motion, a few clicks occurring here and there as he did so. Pft! Jou taking school seriously... the idea was laughable.

After a moderate amount of placid conversation, the two went in their separate ways: Shizuka heading off to the living room to do some cleaning, and Jounouchi returning to his room to presumably lounge about for another good few hours.

Jounouchi sighed as he took refuge on his bed, burying his head into the light pillows and allowing his amber eyes to slowly drift shut again. The idea of sleep right now was really rather appealing, despite the fact that he had just previously been asleep for well over the recommended limit. He didn't want to think about it; there was no point in getting upset especially at a time like this, when he had Shizuka over to entertain for the halfterm week. It was a rare occasion anyway, after their parents had divorced. It was an un-accustomed treat for Jounouchi, and he did genuinely appreciate the little time had with his sister whenever granted. He then started to wonder why he wasn't even with her right now. They could be doing something – anything – together, enjoying each other's company like they used to... and yet here he was, alone in his room: falling asleep. It was a harsh reality. With a grunt, the boy rolled over onto his side, his thoughts once more drifting to the issue that had been the cause of his late nights: and even later mornings.


	2. Chapter 2

alrighttt, chatper two! not that much different from chapter one tbh :x sorry that the chapters seem so short! haha, they seem bigger when i'm writing em, trust me! w

anyway. jou finds out that shizuka's going to the zoo, and naturally she wants him to go with her. the only problem is: seto's going... and we all know how their relationship is. will he agree to go, or will he just sulk and push his sister even further way from him?

**please review, subscribe, whatever! i appreciate all of it! thank you!**

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**Chapter Two - Lets Go To The Zoo!**

"Good morning, Jounouchi!" Shizuka greeted her brother as he groggily clambered down the stairs, managing to trip on the overhanging hem of his jeans as he did so. "I see you're up bright and early. I would have cooked you breakfast, but I—"  
"It's alright, Shizuka." He reassured the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I don't expect you to be my servant, y'know!" Jou laughed, before smiling down at his younger sibling. She returned his smile, before quietly disappearing off into the living room. Jounouchi sighed, a frown tugging at the corner of his lips. Why was she always so keen to leave? Did she really not want to be here? Was she better off without him? With these paranoid assumptions fogging up his train of thought, he didn't even notice Shizuka coming back.

"Um... Jou?" she questioned, tugging at her brother's arm impatiently. "Are you... okay?" Jounouchi quickly nodded in response, taking his sister's hand from his shoulder and holding it in his own.  
"Do you want to do something today?" Jounouchi asked suddenly, smiling reassuringly at his sister. Shizuka seemed really rather taken a-back, tilting her head to the side in an almost puppy-like way: a trait she had inherited from none other than Jounouchi. He couldn't help but smile at the family resemblance. "Yeah, just you and me. I mean, you're only here for a week! I missed you, lil sis, it'd be nice to actually, y'know, spend some time with you." He watched as his sister's face immediately lit up at the thought, her own amber eyes seeming to reflect happiness. She was a beautiful girl, and sometimes Jou couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't blessed with good looks like her! Jou was about to continue, when Shizuka's smile slowly faded into a forlorn frown. "Shizuka... What... what's wrong?" the blonde questioned, suddenly concerned. Maybe she really didn't want to spend time with him? She was better off without him.  
"No! No, it's nothing like that," she quickly comforted, picking up on his distress. "Nothing like that at all. Jounouchi, I'd love to spend time with you," she frowned, gaze casting downwards. "But... I've... kind of made plans already for today..."  
"Made... plans? With who?"  
"Well..." she paused, nibbling anxiously on her bottom lip in that particular way of hers.  
"Shizuka, who?"  
"Mokuba..." There was a long silence, silence so thick that it was almost deafening. Shizuka could feel the immediate hate radiating from her older brother. No, not for the boy who she had already arranged to meet, of course not. He was a decent boy, only a year or two younger that Shizuka so Jounouchi wasn't really that concerned about his sister's welfare... but it was Mokuba's brother: Seto Kaiba. The big headed, rude, arrogant, and more-over rich CEO that Jounouchi had the displeasure of attending school with. 5 days a week was bad enough – he couldn't imagine (and probably couldn't handle) anymore. "I'm... supposed to be going with him to the zoo," she frowned, playing with her thumbs to cause any distraction for herself. "and Seto's supposed to be coming... too..."  
"You can't go, I won't let you. I'm not letting you be around him."  
"Jounouchi!" she bleated, once more attaching herself to her brother's sleeve. "Why not? C'mon, don't be like this. Just because you don't like Seto doesn't mean I don't like him. And besides, he's a nice person, he really is. Can't you remember what he did for me all that time ago?" Jounouchi frowned at what his sister had to say, uncurling his fists slightly.

She was right. Seto Kaiba had helped her. Not only her, but helped Jounouchi, and his whole family – but it wasn't out of some little whim of his to actually help someone without it benefiting himself. Of course it wasn't, the cold-hearted sixteen year would never indulge himself in something so selfless. There was a price, but Jounouchi was more than willing to pay it for his sister to have her sight back. He saw the pain his little sister had gone through: the months of agony and depression that followed as the disease slowly ate away at her eyesight, deeming her legally blind. Jounouchi had nowhere near enough money to pay for the operation: but Seto did. He was a hideous person, perhaps not on the outside but most certainly on the inside, but Jounouchi did owe him a lifetime of debt, and it killed the boy whenever he thought back to it.

"Brother... why don't you come with us?" She suggested naively, those large amber eyes of her meeting with her brother's, the two golden tones reflecting off each other.  
"Shizuka, you know I can't – in fact, you know I won't." The stubborn blonde replied, crossing his arms over his chest in a tight X.  
"But why not? You wanted to spend time with me, right?" Shizuka smiled, stepping back from her brother and putting on her trademark puppy eyes. "It's a perfect opportunity! You like Mokuba, don't you? And I don't think that Seto would even realise, he was only coming to keep an eye on us in case something happened. He'll just be reading a book or something while we look at the animals!" She was convincing, he had to admit. Jounouchi raised an eyebrow sceptically at her, challenging her to go on. He almost resented her for the strange power she seemed to have over him, her calm words and rationally cut right through him. They were total opposites, and that's why they needed each other so much.  
"I wanted to spend time with you – not Kaiba. I get to see him every day at school, Shizuka. I don't want to see him when I'm not required." He pointed out all matter-of-factly, before being shot down by one of his sister's glares.  
"Seto," she corrected, disliking the fact that he always seemed to refer to the CEO by his last name. "and Mokuba are both very nice people, Jou. Why can't you see that?"  
"Oh, I believe you about Mokuba... just not about Kaiba. Shizuka, trust me: you don't know what he's like. He's manipulative, rude, cocky, egotistic—"  
"Are you coming or not, big brother?"  
"Well I guess I have to now, don't I?!"


	3. Chapter 3

finally i've bothered to write chapter 3! ;D! i just wanna say a big thanks to all of you who have subscribed, ectect. it actually does mean a lot to me!

sorry that this chapter seems to drag on a little bit about practically nothing ;s bearing in mind that i wrote half of it last night at about 4am to 5am, and then writing the rest from 2am to 3am. anyway! here it is: the third chapter! i hope you all enjoy it!

**please leave reviews, subscribe, whatever! **i appreciate everything!

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**Chapter Three – Look! A Lion!**

If it wasn't the smell of day old animal faeces that put Seto off, it was the actual animals themselves. The way they bunched themselves up against the glass panes, fighting to be centre of attention so that maybe they'd earn a tasty reward for being the 'cutest' or the 'funniest'. It wasn't their fault, Seto understood that, it was the large crowds of people who fawned over the caged beasts, ooing and aahing whenever a creature did a feat of spectacular heights. The list existed mainly of standing up and scratching itself, or for the more daring, venturing over to the other contained animal in the habitat and batting it across the face.

It reminded him of the kids at school, it really did. The animals were an almost perfect example of just how the students acted: all fighting to be most popular, most liked. To Seto it was nothing more than a regular occurrence, nothing out of the ordinary, so why should he be impressed watching animals acting in such a way, when he could simply go back to school (which he would inevitably have to do eventually) and watch it first hand? The mere concept bored him, and he knew it wouldn't be too long before he ventured off to go find a bench, or something of the sort, so he could go back to work... it was almost as if his laptop never left his side. Which it didn't.

"Seto!" the excited twelve year old cried as he too ran up to the barrier of glass, pressing his face against the already mucky panel. "Look! A lion!" he grinned, not even bothering to look back over to his older brother, who he knew, didn't care. Of course, the older of the sibling's put on a phony facade of excitement as he followed sharply, as if scared he'd lose sight of his brother in such a place like this.  
"Wow, it's not like I haven't seen one of them before..." Seto sighed, cerulean coloured eyes rolling in their sockets before he smiled dryly down at his brother, who had wisely decided to ignore this comment. Mokuba had grown accustomed to his brother's outlook on life, and the boy tried his best not to let it rub off onto him... but some familiar traits were already starting to come through. "Mokuba, weren't you meant to be meeting someone here?"  
"Yeahhh, Shizuka... she sent me a text earlier one, hold on, lemme find it..." the boy peeled himself away from the lion exhibit and reached into his pocket, pulling out his custom-made PDA. It didn't take long before he was holding the illuminated screen up to his brother's face, causing him to wince slightly at the sudden brightness. "she's gonna be a little late because of traffic. She'll call me when she gets here." Before Seto had even gotten a chance to read the message, Mokuba had put the PDA back into his pocket. Pft, kids.

"Alright." The CEO replied simply, not wanting to instigate a rant on how people should never be late, regardless of circumstance. He managed to bite his tongue, but seeing as he did come from a very hardworking and institution-like background, it was a little bit of a task just to let someone pass off as 'being late'. It was challenging for Seto to step over that line of 'work' to 'relax', the brunette not being able to decipher what was acceptable for one zone and what wasn't for the other. Relaxing was something Seto hadn't done in years – and he didn't plan on changing that regime any time soon.

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"Jounouchi—Stop! I said stop, right now!" the girl cried, attempting to pull herself away from her brother's firm grip. She pulled roughly on the boy's hand, attempting to pry it from her wrist – but no luck. When her brother got impatient... god, he did get impatient. Shizuka actually felt sorry for the poor taxi driver, he didn't really deserve all of those things that were hurled at him from the angered Jounouchi. After all, it wasn't his fault that there was heavy traffic, but obviously, the blonde seemed to think differently. She sighed, deciding to give up on all hope of escaping from her brother, and just let him get on with it.

The blonde growled furiously to himself, the grip on his sister's wrist never letting up as he stomped his way down the street. 'God! Can this day get any freaking worse?!' he thought bitterly, amber eyes locked in an angry glare. 'First off, I'm meeting with Kaiba. Second, we get landed with an asshole taxi driver, and then we get stuck in traffic. Just brilliant! What next? A piano falls from the sky and crushes us?!' Sure, he was being a little melodramatic, especially with storming out of the taxi like that, in the middle of a traffic jam... without paying... but Jounouchi and patience really weren't a good combination. He paused for a moment at the idea of a piano falling on them, and he couldn't help but peer meekly up at the sky before continuing on his rampage. "Gah! I don't even know where the god damned zoo is!" he snarled, almost throwing his sister's wrist out of his grasp before turning around to face the smaller girl, who looked less than impressed. Thankfully, she was accustomed to these situations, so it didn't have that much of an effect on her as it would with others.

"Jou... can you please just calm down for a minute?" she frowned, brushing her hazel coloured bangs from her face. "I understand that you're angry, but, we can't really do anything about the fact that there's traffic." The blonde too frowned at his sisters words, realising just how childish he was being about the situation when she put it like that. He sighed, placing both hands behind his head and stretching.  
"Alright... alright, okay. I'm calm." He replied after a few minutes, glancing around the busy street before all attention was brought back to his sister. "Sorry, Shizuka."

"It's fine," Shizuka smiled, linking arms with her brother as she did so. "Thankfully, I printed out a map last night just in case something like this happened!" she giggled, reaching into her floral decorated handbag and pulled out a folded piece of paper that was presumably the map. "Here, take a look. I'm sure we can work it out together!" Jounouchi wasn't completely convinced, but he went along with it and unfolded the directions, amber eyes widening at just how complicated it all looked. Oh yes: all faith was gone.  


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It genuinely was a miracle that they had made it there. It took various attempts of picking out roads, landmarks and the occasional 'please can you help us?' to random passers-by: but they had made it... and all in one piece! Jou wasn't sure on what to do: leap in happiness or collapse is exhaustion. Heck, they had only just made it there and he was already wanting to go back home, crawl into bed, and have a good sleep... but obviously that wasn't an option. He was just about to congratulate his sister, when a finger was brought up to his lips to silence him.

"Mokuba! Hi, gosh I'm so sorry that we're so late— oh, thank you! Yeah, traffic..." Jounouchi blinked once or twice in confusion, glancing backwards and forwards from the finger on his lip, to his sister who was on the phone. "The monkey exhibit? Yeah, sure! That's fine... okay, yep. By the picnic area? Okay! See you there!" and with that, Shizuka flipped her phone shut and quickly placed it back in her bag, pulling her hand away from her brother's mouth.  
"Monkeys?" Jou snickered, the mental image of a monkey sat on Seto's shoulder, hitting him on the head repeatedly with a banana amusing him to no end. Shizuka rolled her eyes playfully at her brother before taking his hand, leading him off into the depths of the zoo.

It was pretty amazing, actually. All the animals and just the atmosphere. It had been literally years since Jounouchi had last visited a zoo, and right now, he couldn't for the life of him figure out why! Both sets of amber eyes were wide in anticipation as they weaved around various exhibits. They passed hyenas, tigers, the lion exhibit that the Kaiba brothers had previously been looking at and even an elephant or two! The siblings were simply stunned, wandering around like headless chickens as they admired the exotic animals.

"Wowww..." the brunette gaped, her face showing nothing but pure amazement. "Look at all the animals, Jou..."  
"I know!" he grinned in response, running up to the Dingo exhibit, watching as the golden coated dogs played about with one another. Jou laughed as a smaller dog somehow managed to pounce upon its oblivious victim and pin it down, but was quickly chased away by another one of the more larger dogs. "Poor lil guy..." the blonde chuckled as he watched the defeated dog skulk off into the background.  
"Reminds me of someone else I know..." his sister giggled quietly to herself, and was about to get a playful bat around the shoulder, when Jou suddenly stopped halfway through what he was doing. Shizuka blinked, tilting her head to the side before slowly turning around to see what exactly had put her brother off. Of course, it was none other than Seto Kaiba. He smirked down at the two, towering over both of the siblings with ease.  
"I have to agree with you there, Shizuka." He agreed smugly, that infamous smirk of his growing even larger. The atmosphere almost immediately changed, a sense of tension and awkwardness building, and yet, Seto didn't see at all phased by it. He simply stood there, eyebrow raised slightly at the now fuming blonde before he let out a quiet snigger. "Stupid dog."  
"What the hell's your problem?!" Jounouchi snarled almost immediately, pushing past his sister so he was now stood face to face with Seto. "Do you choose to be a bastard or is it just your nature?!"  
"Generally," the brunette paused, glancing over to Shizuka who was clearly starting to look quite uncomfortable. "It's my nature. But when it comes to you... yes, you're right, it's choice."  
"Why you little—"  
"Jou!" Shizuka interrupted, grabbing her brother by both wrists and forcing his hands down, back to his sides. Despite Jounouchi's obvious disagreement with this, he went along with it, not wanting to upset his little sister any further. The CEO simply shrugged before starting to head back to the monkey exhibit where Mokuba was undoubtedly waiting for both him and the other two siblings. He stopped, glanced over his shoulder momentarily before signalling for them to follow.

"Come on, Mokuba's waiting for us. You in particular, Shizuka." Jou felt a low growl developing in his chest, but when he looked over to his now blushing sister, he decided to leave it and simply follow after the brunette, saying nothing as he did so.  


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"Shizuka!" the youngest of all four cried out as he saw the brunette girl coming around the corner, accompanied by both Jounouchi and Seto. He couldn't help but cringe as he noticed the tension between all three of them, but Shizuka certainly did seem relieved that Mokuba was actually here now!  
"Mokuba!" she grinned, picking up her pace into a jog until she had reached the younger Kaiba brother, giving him a tight hug when she reached him. Jounouchi watched on sceptically, giving a glance up to Seto who was watching in exactly the same way. Maybe they weren't that different after all? It was obvious that they both cared for their siblings unconditionally. Sure, they showed it in different ways, and on different levels, but the love was definitely there. He wasn't sure if he should be comforted by this fact or just creeped out, although he did like the idea of Seto not being happy with the fact that he had just placed himself on the same level as the coldhearted CEO. "Wow, it's so nice to see you again!"  
"I know!" the twelve year old grinned, happily embracing the hug. It was nice, Seto had to admit. The fact that his brother was able to show affection to at least one other person that wasn't him. The cold, lingering feeling of jealousy slowly started to rise up from his stomach to his chest as he watched Shizuka hugging his brother, but he contained himself, casting a quick glance to Jounouchi, who he could tell, was obviously feeling the same.

This was going to be one hell of a day.


	4. Chapter 4

you guys have no idea how stressed out i was because fanfic wasn't letting me log in/submit my work! ahaha D: stupid site! at least it's back up again now.

anyway, yet another big, ranty chapter about nothing really. actually, there is /finally/ some interaction between seto and jou! :3 ahaha FINALLY!!

OH! i submitted the first 2 chapters of this for my english coursework, and i was given it back today with the mark of A*! ^w^!!! i'm so happy!

**please review, subscribe, whatever! i appreciate EVERYTHING, thank you all so much for reading!**

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**Chapter Four – I Have A Plan!**

Three children. Seto Kaiba was looking after three children. Not two, as he had previously planned, but three.

First off, he wasn't really sure if he should have found Jounouchi's behaviour amusing or just annoying. The way he followed round both Shizuka and Mokuba, pointing and laughing at many various exhibits. Surely a boy his age would have grown up a little bit by now, and wouldn't have been so excited over such a thing as a zoo? Apparently not, and Katsuya Jounouchi was the living evidence. Seto sighed, placing his book down on the wooden table he was currently perched at and he continued to watch the blonde run around like some sort of maniac, whilst all the time being encouraged by his little sister, and Seto's little brother. He felt a smirk tug at his lips as the blonde got impatient with waiting in the line to pet the llama, and it didn't take long before he was pushing into the queue, yelling at random people and actually causing a little girl to cry. He was quickly put back in his place by the girl's mother and Seto watched in amusement as the defeated puppy slunk back to his original place in line.

"Seto!" Mokuba called from the line, a grin that was no longer so familiar to Seto playing over his features.  
"What is it, Mokuba?" the CEO replied, marking the page in his book that he was currently at, and then put it back in his laptop case.  
"Come pet the animals with us!"  
"What? Let that disgusting, smelly, flee-ridden beast touch me?" he paused, before glancing over at Jou, and then back to Mokuba. "Oh... you mean the llama? No thanks, not my thing."  
"What the hell do you mean by that, Kaiba?!" the blonde leapt to his defence, scuttling over from the queue (and therefore losing his place in the line... again) and right up into Seto's face. All he got was a glare and another one of those smirks as the CEO backed off.  
"Excuse me, can you not get that close? I don't want dog breath all over my face, thank you."  
"Dog breath? Dog breath?! Oh I'll show you dog breath!" the now offended Jounouchi yelled before jumping about wildly, breathing large mouthfuls of air into Seto's face. Childish, yes, but it did seem to be working. Seto cringed as the felt the other's breath upon his face and he tried his best to hold his breath for as long as he could... but that came to no help. He did try to go along with it, for his brother's sake of course, since he WAS watching after all... but he soon grew bored, and it didn't take long before he simply shoved Jou by the chest, causing the blonde to stumble back a few paces.  
"Enough." Seto stated simply, raising and eyebrow at Jou who actually looked slightly offended, seeing as he was just trying to play around, but obviously Seto was not the kind to play around... and Jou should have known that.

* * *

  
"Jeez... our brother's aren't getting along very well, are they..." Shizuka sighed to herself as she walked in step with Mokuba, their arms linked with one anothers. The smaller boy sighed and nodded, taking a quick glance over his shoulder to their older siblings who were lurching a few yards behind, not talking at all. In fact, they were doing a really rather good job of ignoring each other.  
"Yeah, I know. But they're always like that... It gets annoying after a while."  
"I can imagine! But I guess Jou is stubborn..."  
"And Seto is a little mean to people he doesn't know very well..."  
"And Jou does seem to take things a bit too far sometimes..."  
"Yeah! And Seto doesn't know how to take a joke!" Mokuba grinned.  
"Haha! All Jou does is joke!" Shizuka added on, now laughing. The two continued listing little flaws about their brothers, having quite a bit of fun whilst doing so, too. Seto and Jou simply lagged behind, completely oblivious to the fact they were currently being gossiped about.  
"You know what would be weird?" the raven haired boy suddenly brought up after they had finished a laughing fit.  
"What's that, Mokuba?"  
"If our brother's liked each other!" he laughed, but Shizuka didn't really seem to see the funny side. In fact, she didn't really understand at all. How could they possibly like each other? It was quite obvious to her that it was the complete opposite! She frowned, urging the younger boy to elaborate. "Well, I mean, you know how... when you like someone, but you don't want them to know and you act like you hate them? And just do and say really mean things to them?"  
"Yeah... I guess..." she blinked, slowly beginning to catch on to what Mokuba was saying. "But, I mean, there's no way, is there?"  
"I dunno! Think about it! They both seem like they hate each other for no reason at all, right? And whenever I used to ask Seto about it he wouldn't be able to give a straight answer..."  
"It's same here for me and Jou!"  
"Exactly! Hmm... It just all seems a little bit weird to me..."  
"Gosh, I agree!" Shizuka nodded notably, also taking a quick peek at the brunette and the blonde, watching them as they had a little tiff over which parrot was the rarest. "Just look at them..."  
"You know what, Shizuka? I have a plan!" and with that, Mokuba took the older girls hand, making her blush as he did so, and he quickly bolted off down the zoo's path, hoping that their brother's wouldn't notice that they had gone missing: and they didn't.

* * *

  
"Shizuka!" the blonde called desperately, pulling back a large leaf of an exotic plant in hopes that his sister would somehow be hiding behind it. "Shizuka! Where are you?!"  
"I can't believe you let them out of your sight, you absolute idiot." Seto snarled down at the younger boy who simply glared back at him, not in the mood to argue. Truthfully, Seto knew that it wasn't only Jounouchi's fault... if he hadn't tried to show off and name all of the parrots in one enclosure he probably would have noticed that Mokuba and Shizuka had gone missing... but of course, why would he admit to that? "For god sakes..." he murmured. "Mokuba! This isn't funny anymore! Come out, right now!"

It was funny, really. The fact that both brother's were going crazy over the fact that they had lost sight of their little siblings in a zoo. The fact that they were panicking so much, resorting to asking people if they had seen either Mokuba or Shizuka and also, the fact they were now stuck in a situation: together.

Jounouchi sighed, leaning up against the wire mesh of a camel enclosure dejectedly. "Look, Kaiba," he frowned as he watched the CEO one more attempting to phone his little brother up. "We're not getting anywhere with this. We're either gonna have to start getting along, or we're gonna have to go to the manager of this place and ask if they can call out their names."

"Considering that I'm risking catching a bad case of flees with working with you, I think that going to the manager would be a much better option." He stated simply, snapping his phone shut and shoving into his back pocket once more. The blonde snarled as he watched the CEO starting to walk, making sure that their shoulders hit as he went past. Jou followed suit, catching up to Seto quite quickly.

"No, right, why the hell do you have to be such an asshole, Kaiba?" he questioned demandingly, trying his best to keep up with the brunette who was purposely walking faster than usual. "It's not as if there's anyone to impress! All you're doing is making yourself look like an even bigger asshole than you really are. Just cut it out, alright? There's no need." Jou added on before falling silent, hoping that Seto would have at least one thing to say in response. He watched the brunette carefully through glaring amber eyes, and he knew immediately that he wasn't going to get any reply. Stupid bastard.

* * *

  
"Anyway Mokuba, it was so good seeing you after so long! I can't wait to do this again!" the brunette smiled at her younger friend, being quick to embrace him in a hug. The smaller boy grinned in agreement and returned the hug.  
"I know! So, when are we seeing each other again?"  
"Umm... Well I'm here for about 2 weeks..."  
"Great! How about, um, not tomorrow... but the day after?"  
"Mokuba." Seto interrupted his tone dangerously low. Even though his little brother and his friend seemed to want to 'do this again', Seto for one, certainty did not – especially if Jounouchi was involved, even though, he was pretty sure that the blonde felt the same, judging from his current look of disapproval. His younger brother scowled up at him, a trait that was indeed inherited from the older Kaiba himself, but he didn't fight.  
"Yes, big brother," he sighed gloomily, before grinning back at Shizuka. "Well, either way, we're gonna see each other real soon! And then we can put my plan into action." Mokuba winked at the word 'plan', and Shizuka giggled. Both Jounouchi and Seto raised an eyebrow at their behaviour, but neither of them interrupted.  
"Okay, well..." the girl too sighed, giving Mokuba one last hug. "I'll see you later!" she turned to Seto and went in for a hug, but decided that this probably wasn't the best plan. "You too, Seto. Thank you for coming today!" Seto simply grunted at this and nodded, placing a hand on Mokuba's shoulder as he did so. Jounouchi growled at the other teen's behaviour, and usually would have tried to start a fight, but after the hassle of getting to the zoo, losing his sister and then having to scope them out on the P.A system... he was too tired to even think of an insult. 'Poohead' was the only one to come to mind. The two families parted, without another word being said.

Jounouchi couldn't work out for the life of him though why he kept looking over his shoulder to look at Seto as they walked off, hoping that maybe there'd be a look back, or a 'goodbye', but of course... there was nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

alrightt! finally got a chapter 5! :3 haha, sorry that it seems to be dragging on so much, guys! :/ i've never been good at 'summarizing' and making a small job of things, so you can expect this to be a preeetttyyy long story.

jounouchi's finally starting to show signs of his feeling towards seto! surely if seto set out the invitation for jounouchi to also come, then mokuba must have given him the same talk that shizuka had given her brother... but what could that mean? does seto feel the same or is he merely doign this to please his brother? READ ON AND FIND OUT ;D!!!

thank you all so much for reading, ectect!

**please subscribe, review, whatever! i apprecite everything - thank you!**

**EDIT: **i just want to say a big thank you to Gillii-Akujacku for being so encouraging about my fanfics - and just being so generally kind ;D! thank you for also pointing out all the typos! D: *uploaded the wrong, un-correct file* silly me n__n;**  
**

* * *

**Chapter Five - He Really Wants To Be Friends**

**_*kawaii-neko312 has logged on*_**

_**duelmaster_mokuba:**_ shizukieee!! :D

**kawaii-neko312:** hi Mokie!! :)

_**duelmaster_mokuba:**_ u ok?

_**duelmaster_mokuba:**_ it was really nice seeing u the other day!!

**kawaii-neko312: **i know! :D we neeeeed 2 do it again. im ok thx, u?

_**duelmaster_mokuba:**_ good! im gr8! seto said if u want, u and jou can come over?

**kawaii-neko312:** :o no way! really???? id love to! are u for serious?

**kawaii-neko312:** ......

**kawaii-neko312:** u sure its ok if Jou comes....

_**duelmaster_mokuba:**_ lol :D im sure! seto said so himself!

**kawaii-neko312: **lol!! im gessing u put the plan into action then......

**_duelmaster_mokuba:_ **;)

**_duelmaster_mokuba:_ **yup!!

**kawaii-neko312:** did he fall for it ok/?

**kawaii-neko312: ***? lol

_**duelmaster_mokuba: **_it took some convinsing... but it worked! .... well kinda :D

**kawaii-neko312:** well done Mokie! neway, ill go and talk to Jou about it now to yeah?

_**duelmaster_mokuba:** _gdgd!! :D u know what 2 say?

**kawaii-neko312:** yup :)

**kawaii-neko312: **kk ill talk to u soon, ly xoxoxxoxxxxxx

_**duelmaster_mokuba:**_ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**_*kawaii-neko312 has logged off*_**

* * *

A light rose coloured painted the girls fragile cheek bones as she switched the monitor of the computer off, all colour that was once on the screen fading to black, revealing a vague reflection of Shizuka's face in it. She giggled at the fact she was blushing... and then giggled at the fact that she was blushing because of the 27 (yes, she did count!) kisses that Mokuba had just given her. A familiar bright smile lit up her features as she happily bounded out of the small, crammed study, and down the stairs in hopes of finding her brother. Last time she saw him, he was happily snoozing infront of the TV, and hopefully he'd still be there!

Yep. He was.

The boy lad in a bundled mess on the small couch, his feet hanging over one of the arms of the dingy couch. Golden hair was even more messy than usual, various pieces sticking up here and there and also obstructing those brilliant amber eyes of his, but it probably didn't matter much to him right now, considering he was asleep, and eyesight wasn't required in order to dream. Shizuka smiled warmly down at her brother, contemplating the idea of just letting him sleep through and having a chat with him afterwards... but god knows how long that would be! She of all people knew that once her brother was asleep: he was asleep… and it took a hell of a lot to wake him up! She sighed, cautiously moving her brother's feet from one side of the couch's arm to the other, so she had just about enough space to perch on the hard, almost dingy surface of the over 16 year old couch. Silently, the girl watched her brother sleeping: the image of tranquillity. Amber eyes softened up considerably, and she was about to go in to stroke her brother's hair... when he let out a loud, pig-like grunt, and put Shizuka off the idea completely. With a laugh, she stood up and whacked a pillow over Jounouchi's head, causing him to wake instantaneously.  
"Ahh! Who?! Wha...aaa...--aa?" the disorientated blonde grumbled, looking even more confused and puppy-like than he usually did. It took him a few minutes to compose himself properly and actually work out what was going on - that he in fact WASN'T getting abducted by little dwarf people who rode chickens and rats as horses, but that actually, Shizuka had just woken him up. She smiled coyly.

"What's up, Shizu?" the blonde questioned after sitting up, running a hand through golden locks in a feeble attempt to smooth it out a little bit. Failure.  
"Not muchhhh," his little sister replied slowly, that smile still lingering over her thin, delicate looking lips. Jou raised an eyebrow, knowing all too well what that tone was about. "just thought I'd come say hi to my favourite big brother!"  
"I'm your only big brother, and," Jounouchi paused, glancing his sister up and down, hoping that she wasn't going to say something like 'notice anything different about me?', because he always failed miserably at questions like that, especially when asked by girls. His poor brain usually just went into panic mode, and he'd try desperately to notice what was different, when most of the time, it was something /so/ miniscule that people weren't even supposed to notice! Especially not boys! "what do you want?"  
"Want?" the brunette question innocently, a faux image of offence playing over her soft features. "Aren't I allowed to spend time with my big brother anymore?!"  
"Yes, Shizuka, you know fine well you are. But I know you want something." Jou grinned as he watched his sister do the opposite and frown, knowing that she had been caught out. She was never good when it came to acting subtle, and considering Jounouchi was her older brother and had taught her how to land that on people... it wasn't going to work from the start. "So... what is it?"  
"Well, okay," she started slowly, slipping off the couch's arm less than gracefully and seating herself by her brother, resting her delicate head on his shoulder. It was just automatic for Jou to rest his head atop his sisters. "you know how me and Mokuba wanted to hang out again? Well I was talking to him earlier and he said that Seto wanted to know if we could come around?" the girl added on in a rather rushed way, hoping that her fast speech would disguise the fact that she had pretty much just asked if Jounouchi would take her over to Seto Kaiba's house. He sighed, closing those large amber eyes of his. He knew it was going to be something like this!  
"We?" he blinked after a moment, only now starting to process what she had said properly. We? Plural? Surely Seto would only want Shizuka over? Heck, he probably didn't even want that, Jou thought, it was mostly all just Mokuba's idea... but he had to admit that he was quite interested in Shizuka's use of 'we'. "You mean... Kaiba's invited me too?"  
"Yep!" his little sister beamed up at him, pulling her head from his shoulder and grinning up at him in that cartoonist way of hers. "Mokuba said he really wanted you to." Of course, both her and the blonde boy knew that this was a lie just to sweeten him up a little bit, but at the mere idea of it, Jounouchi couldn't help but flush a light shade of pink. Seto wanted to spend time with him? Not just wanted: REALLY wanted. He felt flattered, honoured. As soon as he noticed that he was probably drooling a little bit at the idea, he quickly masked his elation by clearing his throat and looking away. Shizuka smiled - this just confirmed the original idea that her and Mokuba had of the whole 'maybe our brothers like each other'.

She knew it, she had known it for a long time. The way the two always acted when they were together, the way Jou would blush whenever the CEO would say his name - no matter how harsh it was intended to sound. The way that they bickered constantly about nothing, and the way that her brother actually liked to be called 'dog' and 'mutt'. It was the way he start to frown again whenever Seto left, or the way he'd try start up any fight he could just to keep him around long enough to indulge himself on the boy's presence, no matter what circumstance it was that was keeping Seto around – which was usually just another fight. Shizuka's smile transformed into one of a more gentle, understanding warmth as she tugged at her brother's arm. "What do you think? You wanna go?"  
"Pfft, do I hell wanna go!" Jounouchi protested stubbornly, even though the little voice inside his head was saying 'Go! Oh my god, say yes! Yes you do want to go! He wants to spend time with /you/ instead of the other way around! Say yes, you idiot!' "If Kaiba really said that, it was probably only to please Mokuba and it's not like I want to or anything - it's just too bad for him."  
"Don't be so negative, Jou!" Shizuka couldn't help but laugh, rolling her eyes at her brother's childish attitude. "Come on, big brother. Why not? Don't you want to be friends with Seto? I know he wants to be friends with you--"  
"He does?" the blonde quickly interrupted, amber eyes growing large at the thought, that sudden gleam of hope returning. "I mean... erm... how do you know that?"  
"He told me!" she lied quickly, managing to keep her composure as she did so. She knew that lying to her brother certainly wasn't the right thing to do, but it was the only way to convince the boy to agree to going. Jou's cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of red as he looked down to the floor, a content smile spreading over his thin lips. 'Seto really wants to be my friend...' he thought to himself as his smile grew larger, liking the way the brunettes first name sounded when he said - well, thought - it. Seto... he had never referred to the CEO by his first name before - not even in his thoughts. This was definitely a first. "I think it would be really nice, you know," Shizuka continued. "just... you two being friends. It'd make things a lot easier for me and Mokuba." Jounouchi knew this was true: it would make life a HELL of a lot easier for the two younger siblings who also seemed to be caught up in their brother's petty hate for each other. Heck, it'd probably make things easier for Jou, being friends with the boy he had fallen so head-over-heels in love with. At least if they were friends they could associate with one another civilly, instead of running their mouths off whenever they had the chance.  
"You're right, Shizuka... you're right."  
"So, how's about it? Tomorrow about elevenish?"  
"Sure thing. I can't wait."


	6. Chapter 6

gahh, sorry guys D: this chapter is quite long & ranty! i have such a problem with getting straight to the point w either way, the next chapter should be a LOT better - actually INVOLVING the two interacting and what-not rofl.

anyway, i hope that you can somehow manage to like this chapter! :P haha. it turned out a whole lot bigger than i expected it to be...

oh! by the way guys, i'd really really appreciate it if you could actually review this. i know it sounds silly, but it really does help but when i get encouraged :D also, i've just written another one-shot puppyshipping fic (just check out my other stories). it has a lot of fluff in it, so if that's what you're looking for: go and check it out!

**thank you very much for reading. please feel free to review, subscribe, whatever! i appreciate everything!**

* * *

**Chapter 6 – He's Got Beautiful Eyes**

_'I can't believe I'm doing this...'_ the brunette sighed as he arranged a few leaves on a plant that was lingering in the hallway._ 'Opening my house up to the mutt, of all the people. It's just for Mokuba,'_ he tried to convince himself, fiddling about with the now abused leaf, causing it to snap in half. He frowned agitatedly before placing the now dead half-leaf into his pocket. He'd throw it away when he had the time. _'It's just for Mokuba.' _Of course he'd say that though. Why would he say anything else? It wasn't as if he actually liked Katsuya Jounouchi, it wasn't like he harboured some deep, dwelling, unrequited love for him – perish the thought! The cold hearted CEO sighed at the thought, leaning against the grand, marble stair case that coiled its way around the Kaiba Mansion. Sure, Mokuba seemed excited, the way he was rushing about, tidying up and fixing minor little things that looked out of place to impress their upcoming guests... but why was Seto feeling almost the same way? He too was going around, nit-picking little things: that the poor plant as an example. Maybe not the best one, seeing as he had made it look considerably worse, with missing leaves and all, but the point was that he was also feeling slightly – but only slightly, because he would never admit to feeling the whole emotion – excited. _'It's just because I'm happy for Mokuba.'_ He re-assured himself, pushing away from the marble beam and lurching his way into the kitchen._ 'And I don't believe that for one second the stupid mutt wants to be my friend... Not as if I'd let him come anywhere near me, the diseased mongrel. Ugh.'_

* * *

Jounouchi was more apprehensive than excited. The closer and closer they got to the mansion, the louder and louder the beating of his heart got. Lips were fastened downwards in a consistent frown as he dragged himself along the pavement, his little sister latched onto his arm like some form of limpet. Shizuka obviously picked up on his anxiousness but simply said nothing, knowing if she did, it would only spark the boy off further. She found it quite cute really, the way he fawned over this boy so secretly, and yet, made it so blindingly obvious.  
"Come on, Jou. What you getting so worried about?" the brunette eventually forced herself to ask.  
"Worried?" he blinked, amber eyes meeting those of his sisters. Once more, he tried to hide his anxiousness, shrugging her question off childishly. "Pft, I'm not nervous! Do I look nervous?" he paused, this of course being a rhetorical question. Before Shizuka even had a chance to open her mouth to respond, Jou continued. "No, I don't. I'm not nervous!" the girl laughed in response, rolling her eyes yet again at her older brother, who right now, was acting like the younger sibling.  
"Alright, alright!" she held her hands up defensively, continuing to walk in step with her brother as she did so. "I was just asking... no need to bite my head off!"

The large, metallic gates barricading the mansion loomed over the two the way a large giant from a fictional novel would. Despite the fact that the metal was in perfect condition, not a scratch nor spot of rust anywhere to be seen, it was just as inviting as a cemetery entrance. Jounouchi wasn't even sure how to get past these metal monsters, taking a brave step forward as he carefully examined the gates, hoping that there'd be some sort of receiver he could press and ask to come in... I mean, that's what fancy rich guys usually had, right? Nervously, he cast a glance down to his sister who mirrored his look, the two looking like identical twins as they stood there with matching quizzical expressions painted onto their faces. Suddenly, without any warning at all, there was a loud screech as the gates slowly, yet surely, began to part, revealing a large, cobbled path that led up to the immaculate mansion. The two stood there unable to move, both holding one another by hand, eyes widening at the picture that was beginning to unfold in front of them.

Beautiful, blossoming trees lined the cobbled path, not a stone out of place. The grass was clean and freshly cut, the lingering smell of morning dew still gracing the air. As they both stepped forward into the realms of this unknown territory, a new sense of excitement drew over them, causing their breath to hitch and their heartbeats to grow faster. Neither one of them had witnessed anything as perfect as this in real life – not even on TV or magazines for that matter.  
"It's beautiful..." Shizuka gaped, and Jounouchi simply nodded, continuing to make his way down the path, being careful not to move the cobbles about too much as he knew that Seto would notice probably immediately and kill him there and then.

The garden was beautiful, a large water feature off to the left, a small paved area created to be what looked like a barbeque area, a few small tables and chairs scattered about. There was also a flower display, wild colours and exotic plants that Jounouchi had never seen before, usually he wouldn't be interested in such a thing... but he had to admit: it was pretty impressive. Shizuka couldn't help but notice a small play area which was obviously intended for Mokuba when he was a fair bit younger. It consisted of a swing, a small climbing set, and a sandbox. She giggled at the thought of it, and couldn't help but wonder why Seto had never gotten rid of it... but she didn't dwell long on the thought.

"Shizuka! Jou!" a familiar voice squealed from up ahead. Both siblings looked up to see who was addressing them, and of course it was none other than Mokuba who was currently standing by the entrance of the Mansion, Seto looming behind him in a sort of 'I-don't-really-care-that-you're-here-but-Mokuba-forced-me-to-come-to-the-door" way. Jounouchi smirked at the sight, before his sisters words came floating back into his mind. 'He really wants to be friends, Jou.' Almost immediately, the blonde's cheeks flushed to a light pink, gaze casting downwards as he quietly followed his sister to the front entrance. The CEO raised an eyebrow at the boy's behaviour but simply passed it off as Jounouchi being a mental retard.  
"Hi, Mokie!" Shizuka grinned, embracing her friend in a hug before looking over his shoulder to Seto, who was half watching and half just wanting to go back into the house. "Hi, Seto."  
"Hello, Shizuka. Nice to see you again." He grumbled after being kicked in the shin by Mokuba. Jou eventually caught up to the group, glancing up to Seto for a moment before looking at the younger one of the Kaiba brothers.  
"Afternoon, Mokuba." He greeted politely, deciding that it was best to ignore the broody CEO right now.  
"Hi!" the raven haired boy grinned before allowing the two into his mansion, bounding in through the hallway, not even waiting for them to catch up.

* * *

The mansion itself was beautiful, just like Shizuka had expected. Beautiful marble floors, patterned walls, chandeliers and satin curtains. She didn't actually think it'd look so... stereo-typical, but it really did. The poor girl, she had already managed to get lost at a total of 7 times simply because Mokuba was too excited and had ran off in one direction, leaving her gawking at whatever he had just previously shown her. Of course, she was always collected by either Mokuba or one of the house attendants after being registered as 'lost', but it was still pretty daunting being in a house so large.

"Mokuba, your house is so coooool!" she squealed as she flopped onto his bed, exhausted from trekking about. His room was pretty much as she thought it would be as well. A fluffy, light blue carpet with cream walls, a large king sized (god knows why a boy so small needed a bed so big!) bed thrown in, along with various other accessories. He had a desk, a large wardrobe with fitted mirrors, over 6 beanbags and pretty much anything he needed or asked for. She was impressed, very impressed. Mokuba collapsed next to her, stealthily wiggling his way closer to her so that their heads were touching.  
"Meh, it's not that bad." He winked playfully, rolling onto his stomach as he did so. Shizuka followed suit, resting her head on her hands. "So, you like it?"  
"Yeah, I love it! God, you're so lucky... I'd love to live in a place like this!"  
"I think most people would. I owe it all to my big brother," Mokuba gloated proudly, fiddling around with the locket around his neck absentmindedly. Shizuka noticed that he did this a lot. "Actually speaking of big brothers..." he paused, tilting his head to the side. After a short pause, the two began laughing, rolling around the bed like infants on fire.  
"I wonder what they're doing!" the brunette laughed, settling herself down eventually.  
"They're either being all lovey-dovey... or ripping each other's faces off!"  
"... Probably the second option."  
"Probably!"

* * *

Ripping each other's faces off... that seemed like a pretty good option right now – anything to kill the awkwardness! God, if Seto knew it would be this excruciatingly awkward and boring he simply would have said no to Mokuba as soon as the dog's name was mentioned. _'I knew this was a bad idea.'_ He thought sourly to himself, trying his very best to ignore the blonde puppy who was currently sat next to him, trying his best not to fidget. Cerulean gaze was cast outside of the conservatory doors as he tried anything to focus on to make it easier to ignore Jounouchi... but so far, he was having no such luck. _'Stupid fucking dog. I could be working right now instead of having to entertain this drooling idiot.'_

Jounouchi frowned as he sat bunched up on one side of the shique, white leather couch. He didn't want to sit too close to Seto, but at the same time, he didn't want to sit too far from Seto. It was a hard balance to see to, but he just about managed to find the right place that pleased him and the ratio's in his mind. Occasionally he'd glance up to the CEO, amber eyes holding a sense of longing, hoping that maybe Seto would strike up conversation for once. No such luck. Quietly, he shifted about, a large squeak emitting from the couch as he did so. The blonde paused, eyes widening as he quickly looked over at Seto, hoping that the he hadn't thought that he had farted or anything. At the actual thought of him farting though, Jou couldn't help but snicker slightly, his shoulders shaking slightly as he tried to withhold his laughter.  
"What are you laughing at, mutt?" The cold voice questioned eventually, now curios to what on earth he found so funny. The blonde erupted in laughter, attempting to drown it out by covering his mouth with his hands, but it really didn't help at all.  
"N-nothing..." he giggled before wiggling about on the couch a little bit more, hoping that it would make the noise again: and it did. He laughed once more, hoping that Seto would catch on... and maybe join in. The CEO blinked once or twice, eyebrow raising slightly. 'Did he... seriously find that funny?' he asked himself, sighing at the thought. Yes, yes he did. Gaze softened up slightly as he watched the puppy double over in laughter. He found it cute the way that he found such childish things funny. The way he'd laugh at the word 'poo' or anything else along that line. Before long, Seto too found himself smiling at the noise, but didn't go as far as laughing.  
"Well done, mutt. You find a couch funny. Shows how far your intellect goes."  
"I saw that smile!" the blonde grinned defensively, getting on all fours and pointing at Seto accusingly, the stupid, goofy grin of his still tugging at the corners of his lips.  
"You're delusional."  
"Nope! Don't even deny it!" he laughed, plonking himself back down next to Seto, seeming a lot more comfortable this time round that he had before. "I saw it, and I trust my eyes more than I trust you!"  
"Bad choice there, mutt... but suit yourself."  
"Yeahyeah, whatever."

Seto sighed at the boy's childish behaviour. They were the same age, and yet at what seemed to be two completely different mental states. As the blonde calmed down, Seto too couldn't help but feel a little less awkward than he had been, and allowed himself to slouch slightly. The room reverted back to being silent, but he wasn't complaining. Silently, cerulean eyes fell upon those of amber, and for a moment the two just sat there, staring at each other. _'Why is he looking at me?'_ he thought almost nervously to himself, but not allowing himself to show it. _'How long has he been looking at me for? What does he want? God, have his eyes always been that... beautiful? Yeah... probably—wait, what the fuck?!'_ and with that, their little staring contest was over, the CEO quickly looking down at the floor and clearing his throat. He hated it when he started to think like that. It happened quite a lot really, especially at inappropriate times. Like when he'd argue with the blonde boy... the way his puppy seemed to blush whenever he was insulted, or how he'd get angry over the smallest things. He couldn't help but find the boy cute, he was sure the same went for a lot of people... but it shouldn't have been that way for him: no, definitely not.  
"Are you hungry?"  
"Uh... what?" Jounouchi blinked, head tilting to the side. He could still feel that warm blush caressing his cheeks. Seto rolled his eyes, bringing himself to his feet.  
"What, do I need to repeat myself?" he sighed, massaging his temples for a moment. "Are. You. Hungry. Jounouchi?"  
"Um... yeah... yeah! I guess I am!"


	7. Chapter 7

and now i bring you chapter 7! :D yayyy, i finally managed to get some DEVELOPMENT into this chapter! haha, i'm so proud. i've been writing a lot, actually. last night i started and finished a random one-shot that came into my head... feel free to read it :D it's on , under this account and it is a puppyshipping one for everyone who was wondering... so if you're interested: please read!

i just wanna say a big thanks for all you guys who are being so encouraging! i reaaaalllyy appreciate it. if it wasn't you guys reading, subscribing and reviewing... i wouldn't be writing this right now. so thank you!

anyway, i hope you guys enjoy this... i know i enjoyed writing it, even if it is a little bit of a rant at the start. **please don't forget to subscribe, review, whatever! i honestly appreciate everything, thank you! 3**

* * *

**Chapter 7 - Kiss Me.**

"C'mon, Kaiba! Hurry up!" the blonde puppy whined, shifting his weight impatiently from one foot to the other. "I'm hungry! Jeez, you sure are taking your time. I'm probably gonna be dead by the time you're finished!" he continued whinging, hoping that maybe it would annoy Seto enough to motivate him to move quicker... but obviously not. All Jounouchi got was a slap of cheese in the face. It took a moment for the poor, confused boy to realise what had just hit him (quite literally), and when he did, he quickly took the liberty of throwing it back. "Hey, don't throw cheese at me!"

The now more-than-agitated CEO looked up from his current task of making sandwiches, cerulean eyes simply burning with hate. Jou couldn't help but squirm under his steely gaze, shuffling himself along the counter and as far away as he could possibly get from the now fuming Kaiba.  
"I'd like to remind you, Jounouchi, who the one holding the bread knife is." He warned dangerously, slamming the sharp blade down onto the block of cheese, cutting off a more adequate slice for the sandwich he was currently putting together for the blonde boy. Jounouchi nodded, not fancying the idea of being stabbed in the face particularly, before quietly edging his way back over to Seto's side, watching him construct the sandwiches. He was like a pestering wife: always there to nag but not actually help.  
"You're doing it wrong!" he cried, watching as Seto placed a sliced layer of tomato over the cheese.  
"Wrong?!" the brunette suddenly snapped, throwing the knife down onto the counter before turning back to the blonde after he had made sure he hadn't broken anything. Almost menacingly, he towered over the boy. "You, Katsuya Jounouchi, out of ALL people, have the nerve to say that I'M making a sandwich WRONG?" he hissed, more than tempted to give the boy a slap across the face... but somehow managed to contain himself, no matter how appealing the notion was. The two once more fell into a silence, the only thing being heard was Seto's breath as he tried to catch it again.  
".... Ooooooooo~" the blonde started to snicker, simply shooing away the hot-headed CEO and retrieving the knife, deciding that he'd just do it himself. "Someone's being a bit stroppy."  
"Shut the fuck up, Jounouchi." He glowered, rubbing his temples. "I'm not in the mood."  
"Whatever." he stuck his tongue out at the other boy, soon completing the task of making a plateful of differently arranged sandwiches in half the time that Seto had taken making just 4. The blonde mentally patted himself on the back, a sense of achievement hanging over him as he picked the plate up, and began to make his way back into the conservatory, his shoulder lightly skimming Seto's as he did so. The broody CEO soon followed, muttering insults about the dog under his breath.

This was probably the first time that Jou had ever felt self-conscious whilst eating. Usually he just didn't care: he'd stuff his face in front of pretty much anyone and not give a toss... but the fact that Seto was just sitting there, watching him in that bitter way he did, just put him off slightly.  
"Er... aren't you gonna... eat anything, Kaiba?"  
"Of your dog food?" the brunette scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest tightly. "I would rather die." Jounouchi couldn't help but frown slightly at the insult, but quickly shrugged it off, continuing to nibble away at his sandwich. It was strange, he never saw Seto eat... not ever. At lunchtime, he always seemed to be working on his laptop, or arguing with some teacher about... something brainy. He didn't eat in class either... Jou just wondered how he did it! He couldn't go more than 3 hours without eating before feeling about ready to pack it in and just generally give up on life as whole.

After finishing off his fair share of messily made sandwiches, the stuffed puppy fell back into the comforting embrace of the couch, snuggling into the leather as far as he could. Eating made him sleepy most of the time, and now wasn't different from any other. The boy's eyelids drooped slightly over his glossy-looking amber eyes, but he was still far from asleep. The two boys sighed in unison, both giving each other a strange look after they had did so, but it didn't take long to dismiss. That reigning silence once more drifted over them, cloaking them in a blanket of peace... Jounouchi actually nearly fell asleep until...  
"Is puppy getting sleepy?" the CEO teased, but his tone seemed less harsh than it once had. Immediately, amber eyes flickered open and Jou sat upright, shaking his head.  
"No!" he defended himself, running a hand through his messy blonde hair, blushing slightly at Seto's tone of voice... he had never heard that one before.

Seto half smiled and half smirked at his sleepy little puppy. The stupid dog was always like this: got hyper, got hungry then got sleepy. He witnessed it every day at school, usually against his will, but all the same: he witnessed it. He rolled his eyes at the boy before standing up, staring down at Jounouchi to hint that he should do the same. With a groan, the blonde did indeed bring himself to his feet no matter how painful it was for him, and obediently waited for his master to tell him what was going on.  
"For bragging purposes only," he paused, straightening out his black turtle-neck jumper, something more casual for today, seeing as it was only Jounouchi visiting and they weren't out anywhere public. "I might as well show you the rest of the mansion." All tiredness seemed to disappear from the blonde as he nodded excitedly, waiting for Seto to make the first move, seeing as he knew would get lost in probably less than 30 seconds. He followed the brunette out of the conservatory, leaving their plate of half-emptied sandwiches on the table for the cleaner to tidy away.

The now almost awe-struck CEO watched as the boy bounded down the vast corridors, marble floors causing him to slip over more than just once. It was strange seeing someone who was supposedly - I say supposedly because Seto was beginning to have some serious doubts to whether Jounouchi was the same age as him - your age acting as if they were 12. But that was Jounouchi, and there seemed to be no room for change. A light snicker coiled its way up his throat as he watched the blonde attempt to get past the first 4 stairs on the large, circular staircase. He of course tripped, landing face first on the transparent glass panel that was meant for feet... not faces.  
"Well done, mutt. Do it again, it really made my day." he teased as he joined the now blushing boy at the staircase. The thing was, Seto wasn't even lying. He was sure that Jou would take that comment in the worst way possible, and it was probably best, seeing as the brunette didn't really want him to know that actually... he did find it adorable, the way he ran around like a small puppy, and it really did make his day watching the pup tumble over, because it was just that cute. He sighed, ignoring the onslaught of insults that Jou was currently firing at him and continued on up the staircase, knowing that Jounouchi would follow sooner or later. And he did.  
"How many floors does this place have?!" Jou gawked as he leant over the side of the spiral staircase, peering up in hopes of his sight meeting with a ceiling... but there was none of yet. "Wow..." Seto smirked at Jou's amazement, now feeling the need to gloat.  
"Five." he replied simply, getting even more of a buzz off the blond's amazed look than he thought he would. He felt himself almost blushing at the sight of those beautiful amber eyes staring into his again, but he managed to quickly mask it by clearing his throat and looking away. Jou did the same, obviously flustered for the same reason as Seto. The rest of the walk was awkward.  
"Where do you want to look next, pup?" the cerulean eyed boy asked eventually as they had now reached the third floor, and neither of them had said anything since. Jounouchi didn't look at him as he replied, not wanting the CEO to see his blush._ 'Pup...' _he mused._ 'Pup. I like that one...' _"Jounouchi?" the blonde could actually hear the impatience in Seto's voice.  
"Er..." he blinked, gazing down the extensive hallway, which looked similar to the one on the second floor. The walls were a rich cream colour, a lining of rich crimson cutting through it at midway point, just to break up the colours a bit. Unlike the first floor, this one was now carpeted, a plush white coloured carpet almost identical in colour to the wall lying underneath their feet. Jealous wasn't the word. Right... okay. Where did he want to look most? Seto's bedroom, naturally, but of course he wasn't going to say that... unless offered. "Do you have a games room?"  
"Three."  
"Oh... um, okay. How bout one of them?!" he grinned, now taking off down the hall with no sense of where on earth he was heading. "The biggest one!" The brunette sighed as he followed his guest, not sure if he should be happy that Jounouchi was showing such an interest in his house, and looking very cute whilst doing so, or whether he should just be annoyed. It was a bit of both.

After having to be literally grabbed and dragged in the right direction, Jounouchi was finally in the Kaiba's largest game room. Amber eyes were wide in admiration as he lingered in the doorway, also preventing Seto to enter the room. He was forced to gather his jaw off from the floor as he heard an impatient sigh coming from the brunette and he stepped to the side, still trying to roll his tongue back into his mouth. He had never seen such a room before! It was probably bigger than any of the game stores he had ever been in! Various technology lined the room, pinball machines, a dance machine, all consoles under the sun stored in a class cabinet, and a huge cinema-like screen to accompany them. As far as seating went, there was about a dozen bean bags scattered about the place and even more pillows. Obviously Mokuba had the choice of what went in this room, seeing as the CEO would never be so unsystematic. For what seemed to be Seto's comfort only, there was a large fiveseater couch in the corner, but was almost hidden away by the vast arrays of gaming utilities. "I want it." Jounouchi pouted as he launched himself into a beanbag. At the sight of the blonde boy pouting lie that, Seto felt his heart skip a beat. _'Get yourself together, Seto.' _he thought bitterly to himself as he joined Jou, but chose not to sit down on a beanbag, he simply stood next to him. _'He's a stupid dog... don't let him do this to you.'_  
"I want never gets." he corrected the still pouting blonde boy, who pouted EVEN MORE at this statement. "Oh, stop looking so pathetic. You actually do look like an abused dog." the brunette sighed, only using this as excuse to get him to stop the boy looking like that, because he was sure that 'can you stop pulling that face, you're almost turning me on' wouldn't work.

It was strange and a whole new territory to Jou, being sat in the same room as Seto Kaiba, alone. It was something that the boy had been wanting for a long time now due to his continuous dreams that never left him. The dream was always similar, starting off the same way that this day had started off. They'd fight for a bit but eventually calm down. After a while they ended up playing games, something simply like a game on the SEGA or Gamecube... and then, as always, they'd end up in Seto's bed. Of course: Jounouchi knew that the probability of this ever happening in real life was very close to 0%, but the way things were panning out were definitely making him nervous... and yet somewhat excited. "C'mon, you big grump!" he laughed, tugging at the sleeve of Seto's jumper, causing the CEO to flinch slightly. "Sit down! Or are you too high status to lower yourself to sitting on a beanbag?" Jou grinned in a playful way, obviously not meaning any offense. All the brunette did was roll his eyes, hiding a smile as he reluctantly - VERY reluctantly - sat himself down on a beanbag opposite Jou. It was a weird sight, to put it simply.  
"Happy now, mutt?"  
"Very." said mutt replied smugly, bringing his thin legs up to his chest and resting his arms limply over his knees. "Do you come in here often?"  
"Not really. It's more Mokuba's room... I'm only in here when he wants me to do something with him."  
"God, Kaiba, you're such a grump! If I owned this place... I'd be in here twenty-four-seven!"  
"And you're such a child, Jounouchi. You don't seem to understand the concept of 'working for a living'." Seto sighed, hoping that this wouldn't escalate into some huge row... he just didn't have the energy for it today. That distinctive frown soon curled down the corners of the blonde's lips as he took in Seto's words. The fact was: he was right. Jou didn't know what it was like to stand on his own two feet yet, he had a father to do that... no matter how little his father did seem to provide for him sometimes. He had never worked once in his life, and didn't plan to for a while yet. The words cut deep.  
"You really do have to be an asshole all the time, don't you? I was just playing about." Jou sighed, hazy amber meeting cold cerulean as he spoke. There wasn't a flicker of emotion within those dark blue eyes, and Jou couldn't help but feel as if his heart was being stabbed. Seto really didn't care. _'How stupid am I, to fall in love with a fucking emotionless asshole.' _he thought sourly to himself, nibbling on his bottom lip. _'Stupid Seto fucking Kaiba.'_  
_  
'I didn't think it'd upset him THAT much.'_ Seto thought dully to himself as he watched the blonde sulk. He had to admit: it was a little harsh of him, and Jou WAS just having a joke... but it was simply Seto's nature, and he couldn't help it that he was like this. Of course, he blamed Gozaburo for a lot of this, dating all the way back to his childhood... but that was a completely other story. _'Stupid dog... just look at him sulking like that. He should be thankful he's even in a place like my mansion,'_ he continued, still watching the blonde who was occasionally looking up to meet his gaze before blushing and going back to sulking. 'but it is kinda cute on him. _Ugh, I guess he expects me to say sorry...'_ Seto sighed, combing his fingers through brunette locks._ 'Anything for an easy life...' _  
"Look, Jou... I'm--" he was abruptly cut off by having a pillow lobbed right in his face. Since he was caught so off guard by this attack, he had actually managed to topple right over his beanbag, doing a kind of backwards roly-poly motion. "What the fu--!" another pillow was thrown, clipping him square in the face. He was angry now, and was about to simply go over and hit Jounouchi... when he saw that grin of his. The blonde meant no harm at all. He sat there, a proud look on his face as he held his next pillow, ready to throw whenever needed. Amber eyes had a new look of playfulness to them which Seto was once more awestruck at, and with that, he decided that he might not be so harsh on his puppy after all. He smirked as he sneakily picked up a pillow of his own, keeping it out of Jou's sight.  
"Serves you right!" the blonde boasted... before being knocked over himself by a pillow in the gut. This. Was. War.

The two immediately started to bombard each other with not only pillows: but whatever they could find. Beanbags, various remote controls, toys and all sorts were being thrown about as both the brunette and the blonde tried to protect themselves and get the other one down first. Typical male behaviour. Seto laughed as Jou managed to floor himself by picking up a wired PS2 controller, the lead wrapping around his legs as he tugged violently at it, obviously causing him to fall over. There was a moment of silent shock... for both of them. _'He just... laughed?'_ Jou blinked, looking up at the CEO who looked just as shocked._ 'Wow, I've never heard that before... wow...'_  
_'I just laughed?'_ Seto thought to himself in a concerned tone. He soon pushed the thought to the back of his head as he picked up another beanbag, pouncing upon the smaller boy and managing to pin him down underneath him. The brunette was currently straddling the blonde, the pup's arms pinned underneath his knees as he wriggled about helplessly. Seto grinned in an almost maniac way. "Game over, pup." he smirked before smothering Jounouchi with the beanbag, hearing anguished cries and squeals from underneath its squishy material. After a few seconds of this, the brunette stopped, not wanting to kill the poor boy by suffocation... and... it probably wouldn't do his business very good if the next day titles like 'CEO KILLS INNOCENT MUTT' or something like that sprawled all over the front page of every newspaper and magazine. As he removed the beanbag, their eyes met instantaneously. The blonde's face was a deep shade of pink from all the laughing he had been doing, but somehow managed to morph into an even deeper shade as he lay there under Seto's gaze... and body. Seto really wasn't sure what to do now, actually. _'Kiss him.'_ a voice said to him simply, cerulean eyes softening as he watched the boy blush even more violently than he had ever seen. _'Kiss him!'_ he urged himself as he brought a hand to the boy's messy hair that was splayed out in a fan-like way, as he was lying on the floor. He could feel Jounouchi's heartbeat against his thigh, making his own quicken to the pace that Jou's was currently running at... which was pretty fast. Gently, he ran his fingers through his surprisingly soft, golden locks, eye contact never breaking.  
_'I love you...' _Jou thought to himself, not having the courage to say it out loud. _'Kiss me...' _he begged with his mind and his eyes, hoping that Seto would get the message. _'Please... kiss me...'_ Their faces slowly drew together, both sets of eyes fluttering shut as their lips came so close to touching. _'Kiss me...!'_ the blonde continued to beg mentally, he could feel the CEO's warm breath against his lips, his own breathing hitching slightly as the adrenaline began to course around his body. So close, they were so close until...  
"Big brotherrrrrrr~!" Seto heard Mokuba chime from down the hall.  
"Jouuuuuuu!" Shizuka echoed, and panic immediately struck both boys. They threw themselves away from each other, still flustered and hot from what was going to be their first kiss, but they couldn't let their siblings see them like this. Jounouchi combed his fingers through his hair, desperately trying to sort himself out, and Seto was doing the exact same thing. As the door flung open, both boy's just about managed to look as if they were doing something totally, well, not what they were just doing - or were about to do - before.  
"Seto..." Mokuba gasped, looking around the now destroyed room. "What happened in here?!" Seto couldn't help but smirk as he glanced over to his blushing puppy.  
"Trust me, Mokuba. You don't want to know."


	8. Chapter 8

before i say anything else: sorry that this chapter seems to make no sense at all. :x i forgot that i hadn't mentioned the fact that it was later now, you guys all probably think it's still like 1pm or something ;P it's not! it's night time, haha! also, i'm sorry if there's any gramatical mistakes (i can image there's many!). just... try to ignore them to the best of your abilities :')

anyway, chapter 8! i couldn't sleep, despite the fact that i'm actually the human equivelant of a zombie (rofl that made no sense at all... told you i was sleepy), so i thought i might as well get the next chapter up. :3 i'm sure you guys will enjoy this one - i know i did... and you'll enjoy the next one even more! ;D

so i hope you like it, **please remember to subscribe, review, whatever! i appreciate everything - thank you!!**

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**Chapter Eight - Sleepover?**

Jounouchi hated this. He hated the entire situation. The fact that he and Seto were so close, and then Mokuba and Shizuka just had to come in an interrupt. The blonde boy sat at the opposite side of the couch to the boy he desired most of all, a frown carved into his features, unlikely to go away at any time soon. The two younger siblings were sat on a couch together, happily cuddling away that Jou and Seto should have been... but obviously things weren't working out how they were supposed to.  
"Jou, are you okay?" the smaller girl called from her corner of the room, removing her face from Mokuba's fluffy hair. The blonde couldn't help but glower slightly at the sight of it, not only because he was protective over his sister... but because he was just so god damned jealous!  
"Yeah, I'm fine, Shizu." he lied, glancing over to the CEO who once more appeared to be ignoring his complete existence. _'And there's the old Kaiba... acting like he hates me.'_ he thought pathetically, eyes casting downwards as he nervously fiddled with his thumbs. The brunette girl went back to resting her head on her 'friends' shoulder, the boy nuzzling into her embrace._ 'Just look at that,'_ Jou thought bitterly, eyeing the two out of the corner of his eye. _'That should be me and him...'_ he sighed, once again looking back over to Seto, who now seemed to be doing the same thing. In unison, the two blushed and quickly looked elsewhere, both trying to distract themselves from the loud thumping of their hearts.

"Can you see that?" Shizuka whispered into Mokuba's ear through his hair, trying her very best not to stare at the two boys on the couch opposite them.  
"Mhm..." the boy replied also in a whisper. Considering the current situation he was in, Shizuka all bundled up to him and giving him cuddles, he had to admit he didn't care much, but for Shizuka's sake, acted interested. "What do you think happened?"  
"I dunno... but it was pretty obvious they weren't 'fighting'."  
"You're right... hmm..." the two fell silent, trying to formulate some sort of plan that they could use against their brothers to try and get information out of them.

"Big brother..." Mokuba said eventually, reluctantly pulling away from Shizuka, immediately feeling a loss of warmth as he did so. Seto glanced over, obviously not too happy with his brother.  
"Yes?"  
"I was wondering..." he started slowly, treading cautiously around his brooding brother. Shizuka too sat up, placing her hands neatly on her lap. She knew what was coming. "Since we all seem to be having such a good time--" Jou couldn't help but scoff slightly at this, all 3 others raising a brow at him, causing him to shrug and blush. "Uh.. like I was saying.." the younger Kaiba continued, cinnamon coloured eyes growing large and puppy-like, a look that only reminded Seto of the blonde boy currently scooting closer to him, trying to be as un-noticeable as possible. "Since we're all having a good time... I was wondering, since Shizu's not going to be here for much longer... if... um..."  
"Mokuba, what do you want?" the older of the two demanded, not really in the mood to deal with being toyed about right now.  
"Okay, er, I was wondering if Shizu - and Jou if it makes you feel better - could sleep over?" he paused momentarily, and cut Seto off just as he was about to start talking. "I mean it'd be great! Wouldn't it Shizu?" the girl nodded. "We could all have a camp-out in the front room or something and it'd be great fun! Promise! C'mon Seto, you know it will." the younger boy began to rant, speaking so fast that it was almost incoherent, but thankfully Seto was accustomed to it. There was silence, the youngest two of the group staring at the CEO wide-eyed, and as he turned to look at Jou for his opinion on it... the blonde seemed to be giving him exactly the same longing look. He couldn't help but smirk slightly.  
"Alright," he said simply, the three cheering joyously at Seto's decision. "it's fine with me as long as it's fine with Jou--"  
"Yes! That's fine, it's great!" the blonde confirmed, not having to be asked twice. Shizuka and Mokuba silently giggled to themselves before taking off, skittering out of the room with great speed, the only sign left of their existence being the pitter-patter of their footsteps going up the stairs.

Alone. At last.

Anxiously, as if he was embarrassed to even look at Seto now, the blonde turned his whole body around, so he was completely facing the blue-eyed boy who, by now, was also doing the same. The blonde blushed, not really sure where to look. The brunette chuckled, not actually at Jounouchi, but just at how he was acting so coy and shy. This was not the annoying, loud-mouthed mutt that he had once come to know.  
"What's wrong, pup?" he questioned innocently, acting as if their previous incident had never actually happened. Jou tried to do the same, shrugging quickly, still desperately attempting to make eye-contact with the brunette.  
"Nothing..." the blonde murmured, nibbling on his thumbnail as he spoke, muffling his words even more. Without the watchful eyes of Mokuba and Shizuka, the boy picked himself up off the couch and simply walked over to Seto's end, seating himself as close to the CEO as he could. Dropping a hint? Most definitely. Seto couldn't help but smile, watching as his nervous puppy attempted to get close. Without wanting to make it too obvious, he rested his arm on the back of the couch behind Jounouchi's head, causing the boy to blush even more.  
"You sure? It doesn't seem like nothing to me..." Seto continued, not looking down at the smaller boy as he spoke, cerulean eyes focused on the wall opposite. He felt Jounouchi nodding, his hair gently brushing Seto's face as he did so, seeing as he was so close. At a loss of words, the boys sat there, almost awkwardly. Intentionally, Jou allowed his knee to brush Seto's gently... but the CEO acted as if he hadn't noticed it, not really sure how to react to something like this. "Do you want to go outside?" he questioned eventually, now looking down at his pup, who was nodding. "Alright," he said softly before standing up, offering a hand down to the blonde, who graciously slipped his own, smaller hand into Seto's. "C'mon."

Silently, but comfortably, the two padded down the hallways, hand in hand. Jounouchi refused to let go of his hand once he had taken it, and Seto, apparently, didn't seem to put up much of a fight against it. With their fingers interlaced, and their cheeks a light rose colour, they finally reached the grand, glass doors that lead out into the main, private garden. "It's cold outside, pup." the brunette warned, gently plucking his hand away from Jou's as he reached out to the coat rack. Jou watched quietly as Seto picked out a long, black jacket for his puppy, holding it out open for Jou to slip into. With a grateful smile, Jou turned and did indeed put on the jacket, allowing Seto to do up the button's on the front for him. No words were needed, the moment was perfect enough. After dressing the blonde up, Seto too put on his more than familiar trench coat before pulling open the garden doors, the automatic light outside switching on as he did so. This was actually the one place Jounouchi hadn't seen: the back garden. If he thought the front one leading up to the mansion was impressive... then god, this just blew his mind out of the water completely!

The vast garden area was surrounded by a large, bricked wall, to keep any intruders out, ect. Just as the front garden, this too had a long cobbled path which branched off in many directions, all leading to separate parts of the garden. From what he could see, considering it was now about 9PM and it was pretty much pitch-black, he was most certainly impressed. He could see the outlines of a swimming pool, which looked as if it hadn't been really used to its full extent recently, considering there was a large cover over it. He couldn't blame Seto though: it was in the middle of winter anyway. Other than the pool, he could also see a small ponded area, a bench and a Victorian style lamp-post next to it, illuminating the bench with a dim, inviting light. Jounouchi smiled. _'Is this where I'm finally going to get my kiss?' _he thought expectantly to himself, looking up to Seto, who also seemed to be admiring his garden. It didn't take long before the blue-eyed boy was looking back down at him, mirroring the boy's tender smile, offering the blonde his hand once more. As they clutched one another's hand as if their dear life depended on it, the two continued down the path, leaving Jounouchi even more curious now. If Seto didn't plan on taking him to the pond, which probably would have been Jou's preferred choice, then where was he taking him...?

"Get on, I'll push you, if you want." the brunette offered gently as they arrived at a small, wooden swing set, only just illuminated from the reassuring lamp which was about 5 metres away. Jou giggled quietly, but did as he was told and clambered onto the swing, tilting his head back slightly to grin at Seto, who was now standing behind him. Playfully, he rolled his eyes at his excited puppy, before gently starting to push the boy. As he started to get higher and higher, Jou couldn't help but laugh, now swinging his legs in unison with Seto's pushing._ 'He's such a child.'_ the CEO thought sweetly to himself, in complete awe of the blonde boy. Before either of them had noticed, it had turned into a small game, Jou trying to get higher than Seto's reach so he couldn't push him anymore and Seto jumping up every time Jou swung back to him, trying to give him a hard push. As the swing brought Jou away from Seto, he once more titled his head back and stuck his tongue out, winking one of his large, amber eyes at the CEO, throwing him off completely, so he actually completely missed the blonde as he swung back over. Mentally, Jou gave himself a high-five, proud that he had that kind of power over Seto.

Now bored of this game, and putting it plainly, wanting Seto more than he had ever wanted him, the blonde allowed himself to come to a standstill, the swing only rocking very gently now. Seto picked up on the hint, now walking around to the other side of the boy so they were facing each other. In one, swift movement, Seto had managed to manoeuvre Jou off the swing so he was now sitting on it, and the blonde was perched carefully on his lap. THAT was skill. Confused, and slightly disorientated, the blonde cocked his head to the side, only now realising that he was on Seto's lap. He blushed, quickly breaking the eye contact they had previously had to once again look at the floor, now far too embarrassed to look the other teen in the eye.  
"Katsuya," the brunette whispered, sending the boy into a state of shock. 'My first name?' Jou blushed furiously, still not looking up at the CEO, who was repeating his name. "Katsuya." he said once more before holding the boy's chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing the boy to finally look up at him. The eyes, and smiles met, each boy feeling as if they could simply melt. "If I can recall properly," Seto paused, leaning in slightly to the boy, who did the same, eyes already closing. "We were interrupted before..." he purred, gently running his thumb over Jounouchi's bottom lip, causing the boy to shiver on his lap. "So where were we?" Without even having to be reminded, Jou simply gave up and crushed his lips together with Seto's in a bruising kiss. There was no complaints from the brunette as he forced his tongue into the boy's mouth, exploring every inch of the boy's sweet wetness. The smaller boy whimpered in pleasure as he wrapped his legs around Seto's waist, pulling their heated bodies even closer together. Jou too began to use his tongue, rolling it gently over Seto's, causing the brunette to growl quietly out of lust. Jou blushed at this, deepening the kiss even more by wrapping his thin arms about the CEO's neck, the brunette responding by cupping his face in his large hand, softly stroking his soft skin with his thumb. Reluctantly, but due to lack of oxygen, the two pulled away, their faces never leaving contact as Jou rested there, his nose and forehead pressed against Seto's as he desperately tried to catch his breath. The blue-eyed boy simply smirked, placing little showers of kisses all over the boy's face, leaving a blush after him as he went. Their lips met once more, bodies grinding up against each other desperately, heartbeats faster than they ever had been before.

"Jounouchi..." the brunette panted as their lips parted, the blonde whimpering as he did so, desperately trying to re-connect their lips. "Inside." he murmured through a kiss. "Bedroom." and with that, the two were off at a hurried pace, dashing down the path, desperate to get into the safety and behind the locked door of Seto's bedroom.


	9. Chapter 9

**SMUTSMUTSMTUSMUTSMTSUTMSUTSMSUTMUSTMSUTMSUTSMUTSMUTSMUTSMUTSMJUT!!!!!!**

... ahem. :3 YEP. this is the smutty chapter of the story i guess. w jesus christ, i don't know why the HELL it's so long. :/ gdjgkfgvldsjgtfrklvjsdmckjvhnrgkls i told you guys i have a terribly tendancy to drag things out like loadsssssssss. i've actually made the sex scene boring!!! eurgh, well, i promise if there's another one i'll make it a lot more fun and sexy. D:!!!!!!!!!!!

it's been a LOOOOOOOONG long long long time since i've written, or even thought about, writing a sex scene, so i'm sorry that i'm so rusty and am very vauge on descirption of... male parts. :c haha, i sound so pathetic. anyway. i'm sorry that this is just so shittly done & is so long: i promise you, the next one will be so much more better D:

anyway, i hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me for my sins and to actually brave on through this chapter and come out alive/awake. i hope you enjoy it, and please don't forget to review, subscribe, anything! thank you so much, i appreciate everything!

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**Chapter Nine – I love you.**

Gasping, squirming, panting and moaning. Flustered hands and blushing cheeks. Two desperate boys.

Between rough kisses and wanton whispers the couple raced through the mansion, in through the glass doorway and up the spiralling stairs, both too caught up in one another's heat to think rationally. A pause, their lips met again, then they continued. By the second floor they were up against the wall, biting and suckling at one another's lips like vampires, hands wandering, but the quiet murmer of the TV from the games room was enough to remind them that their siblings too occupied the mansion, so they carried on, quietly and yet no less desperately than before, up to Seto's bedroom.

As they arrived, almost immediately they found themselves on the bed, door closed and locked, lights remaining off. The moonlight pouring in from the completely transparent wall of glass illuminated every curve and contour of their bodies in a ghostly glow, burning eyes piercing through the darkness of the night. Seto threw the blonde down on the bed, ripping off the jacket he had previously dressed the boy in and decided it looked much better on the floor. Jou smirked, pulling Seto closer by wrapping his legs around his torso suddenly, causing the brunette to lose his balance and fall on him, enabling their lips to come together once again. Tongues fought for dominance, but in the end the blonde simply surrendered, allowing the brunette to do what he pleased, and this of course delighted the CEO. Through the kiss, Jou could feel the other's smirk as he nipped roughly at his bottom lip, causing the blonde to cry out, but certainly not in pain. So his puppy did like it rough... even better.

Seto pushed away from the boy underneath him, but only so he could slide a hand up his shirt, massaging the blonde's toned chest. For a moment, he was actually shocked, not expecting his little puppy to be so well-built, but he wasn't complaining. Jou whimpered as Seto flicked his thumb over his nipple, hand tugging roughly at the brunette's sleeve, begging him for more. The blue-eyed boy smirked, leaning back down so their chests were touching, his lips meeting the boy's soft neck as he suckled away at his warm flesh, still toying with the boy's nipples as he did so, causing him to writhe and buck underneath his touch. "S-Seto...!" he gasped, not intending it to come out as loud as it had. Cheeks were stained a deep crimson as he watched the CEO continue to arouse him further; something he thought couldn't be possible. Seto stopped, sitting up for a moment to shed his own jacket and shirt off, before starting on Jounouchi's clothing. He removed the boys shirt with ease, leaving the blushing boy even more red than he had been previously. Pleased, Seto continued, bringing his face back to Jou's neck, now starting to work his way down to his shoulder. "Ahhh.." the blonde whimpered, hands now hidden in Seto's hair, tugging slightly as he felt sharp teeth digging into his shoulder. Hips ground together, causing both boys to growl hungrily at the contact, each wanting more. Relentlessly, Seto continued to make his way further down the blonde's body, kissing, nipping and suckling wherever he chose to, leaving small, red marks as he went. There were no complaints: simply whimpers and moans. As he reached the boy's hips, he lightly nipped at the protruding bone, causing the blonde to buck his whole body upwards, bringing that smirk back to Seto's lips. He buried his face into the boy's smooth skin, proceeding to leave a large love mark on Jounouchi's left hip, just to mark his territory and to prove he was there, it was real, and it had happened. Almost blinded with desperation and desire, Jou tugged roughly at Seto's hair once again, panting as he did so. "Now." he begged, amber eyes shining with lust, a look that Seto had never seen before, but it turned him on all the more. "I want you, now..!" the CEO didn't have to be told twice. With a quick, smooth movement, the blonde's trousers were off and accompanied all the other items of scattered clothing on the floor. Seto's trousers followed suit, leaving them only in their boxers.

Now impatient, the blonde wriggled out from under Seto's grasp, leaning up against the headboard of the bed as he pulled the brunette in-between his legs, kissing him roughly. It was Jou's turn now. On all fours, Seto leant into the kiss, bringing a hand to Jou's neck as their tongues too connected, a low growl emitting from the brunette's throat. "Do you want me as much as I want you?" the blonde teased, slender frame clinging onto the CEO's as he lapped away at his neck, deciding that he too wanted to leave a mark of ownership on his newly found lover's body. He got no response, which caused him to bite deeper into the boys's neck, finally causing him to moan out, the closest thing to a 'yes' Jounouchi was probably going to get. In the same way that Seto had, Jounouchi smirked to himself as he pushed the now powerless brunette onto his back, climbing onto his thin frame with ease. "Mmmm..." he purred, tracing his hands down the sleek contours of the CEO's body, admiring the gorgeous boy beneath him. Without wanting to waste any more time, the blonde leant over, slipping a hand down Seto's boxers as he kissed away at the boy's jaw line, gaze drifting downwards as he flicked his wrist up and down on Seto's now rock hard member. The brunette hissed into Jounouchi's hair as he was granted the contact he so desperately desired, breathing now laboured and quick. Jou quickened his pace, rolling his thumb over the tip of the boy's member, pre-cum oozing out onto his fingers. He smirked, removing his hand from under the thin layer of clothing, bringing his fingers up to his own lips and suckling on them, throwing Seto into a fit of arousal as he ripped the smaller boy off his chest and threw him back onto the bed, taking both pairs of boxers off as he did so. The blonde blushed, tugging meekly at the sheets to hint that he now wanted to get under them, obviously not 100% secure with his body image. Seto couldn't help but smile, understandingly slipping both him and his shy puppy underneath the silk sheets, showering Jou's face with kisses as he did so. The blonde giggled for a moment before clinging back onto Seto who was now straddling his naked self, causing him to moan as their members grazed each other.

Not gently, but nowhere near as rough as before, Seto brought his lips back together with Jounouchi's, eyes fluttering shut as he wrapped his fist around the boy's erection, slowly pumping up and down. The boy underneath him shivered, arms coiling around Seto's neck tightly as he nibbled at the brunette's earlobe, whispering obscene things between light kisses and nips. Now even more desperate and hot, Seto ground their hips together crudely, but he knew he had to prepare his pup first before he actually fucked him. He paused for a moment, leaning over the blonde as he watched through confused eyes as Seto struggled to reach the draw by the side of the bed, and Jounouchi eventually decided that it'd be easier if he did it himself. Seto smiled sarcastically at his lover, which only resulted in their hips being rubbed together again, causing him to moan and inspired him to hurry the fuck up. A small tube of lube was brought out, causing Jou to giggle slightly at the idea that Seto had some, but he was quickly shot down by the brunette's glare. "Do you want this to hurt or not? Because either way I'm going to fuck you. " Seto stated simply, the blonde falling silent at his words. Seto smirked. "I thought so." The boy resumed his place between Jou's legs, his hand now slick with lube as he kissed lightly at the insides of his thighs, causing the blonde to shiver and whimper. His hands once more found refuge in Seto's hair as he felt him placing a finger at his entrance, eyes squeezing shut.  
"I've never done this before…" he admitted quietly, turning his head to the side and attempting to bury it in the pillows. Seto smiled into Jou's thigh, placing another gentle kiss on his pale skin.  
"It's okay, pup," he assured gently, lips slowly kissing their way to Jou's hotness. "I'll be gentle." He promised before flicking his tongue over the tip, Jou simply grunting something incoherent in response, hands tugging and pulling at soft, chocolate brown locks. The CEO almost rolled his eyes at how quickly Jou's mentality had changed, but he said nothing, bringing the whole head of the boy's member into his mouth, his tongue rolling over the tip as his lips tightened, a finger slowly pushing in through the boy's entrance. He heard no complaint, a mere yelp of shock, pleasure and pain all mixed into one… but he heard no complaint. Slowly, gently, he began to work his finger in and out, continuing to massage Jou's member with his tongue. The boy was whimpering, moving his hips in a rhythmic pattern with Seto's mouth, the brunette having to lift his other hand up from his side and hold him down by the hip. He whimpered in protest, but didn't remove the brunette's hand, his head tipping back into the pillow as a second finger was entered, this time causing him to feel slightly more uneasy than the first one. He soon grew accustomed to it, now blinded with pleasure as he tried to quiet his moaning, but coming to no success. Seto didn't seem too bothered, as he knew that both Mokuba and Shizuka were probably asleep by now, but the worry was still there… just, at the very back of his mind right now. "S-Set…" his puppy whimpered as he took his whole member into his mouth, right down to the base. A warm tingling feeling began to form in his abdomen, amber eyes rolling to the back of his head. The CEO recognized this and stopped, completely pulling away from his shuddering puppy. He smirked down at the sight of the boy panting and whimpering on his bed, eyes begging for more.

After lubing up his own member, trying to make this as comfortable as possible for Jou, Seto leant back over the boy, positioning himself at his now welcoming entrance. The blonde moaned, attempting to force himself down onto him, but the brunette stopped him. "Calm down, pup." he purred, nipping at his neck, piercing his skin adequately enough for him to taste that familiar metallic taste on his tongue.  
"Fuck me." He begged simply, throwing his arms around the blue-eyed boys neck as he forced their lips together, tongues desperately meeting one another, both boys moaning. Slowly, Seto began to enter the smaller boy, feeling his lip being nibbled at in anticipation, the blonde boy not wanting to have to wait any longer. With a hiss, he entered Jou fully, both boys falling silent for a moment as they both adjusted. "Fuck me…" the golden haired boy repeated, tone more desperate, more wanton than before. Slowly at first, he began to pump in and out of the boy, letting him get used to the feeling and for the pain to subside before he went any faster. Not even sure how to react, Jou stayed relatively quiet, biting down hard on his finger as Seto moved in and out of him, his pace growing quicker and quicker with each stroke. It wasn't long before the brunette was thrusting in and out of the boy, legs over his shoulders as he held him by the shoulders, both panting and gasping away. Blonde hair was matted to his face as was brunette to his own, but neither cared, eyes squeezed shut tightly in pleasure.  
"Get on all fours." Seto growled hoarsely into the blonde's ear as he pulled out, assisting the boy in changing position by grabbing him forcefully around the waist, flipping him around. Jou didn't really have to do anything apart from go with it, holding his ass up in the air as he leant on his arms, looking over his shoulder at the brunette through lustful eyes. He actually nearly came at the sight of his pup looking so god damned sexy in that position, but managed to control himself, holding the boy by either side of his waist as he pushed back into him, fucking the boy at an unbelievable pace. A hand found itself tugging at the blonde's member, causing him to moan and whrite about even more, the boy's body falling into it's own time with Seto, meeting each stroke and thrust with his own. Once again, he felt that sweet, tingling feeling building up in his groin and Seto felt the same, nails digging into the boys sides as he pounded the boy, both growling and groaning to themselves. "K-Katsuya…!" the brunette hissed as he bent over the boys body, his chest now grazing the blonde's back every time he thrust his hips backward and forwards. Jounouchi tilted his head at the sound of his head, their lips just about managing to meet before the blonde let out a loud, strangled cry, Seto's hand being covered in a warm, thick liquid. At the sound of his puppy reaching his climax, the brunette did the same, managing a few last thrusts before convulsing inside his lover, groaning deeply into the boy's ear before he bit down hard on his own lip, not expecting himself to be that loud. The two collapsed in a messy heap, gasping for air, their bodies still connected.

"Nnnnn…" the blonde just managed to mumble as he Seto pulled away, grabbing the box of tissues that was conveniently placed on the bedside table and he quickly cleaned both of them off before collapsing next to his puppy, who already seemed to be drifting off. The brunette extended an arm to the boy and he more than willingly slithered over, cuddling up to the sweaty CEO, but he couldn't really complain much seeing as he was in the same state. Jou rolled onto his side and Seto followed suit, snuggling into his pup from the behind, protectively resting his head in the crook of Jounouchi's neck, placing soft, delicate kisses on his jaw line. He felt Jou smile sleepily, but that was all he was able to do. "Seto…" he whispered, throat sounding blocked and sore. "I love you." He murmured, amber eyes slowly slipping shut as he disappeared into a dream world of his own, which was in many ways similar to the position he was currently in: cuddled up in Seto's arms. The brunette smiled, tightening his grip around his already snoozing pup.  
"I love you too, Katsuya, my beautiful, adorable puppy."


	10. Chapter 10

eee, not much to write about this chapter really! jou's just being your typical paranoid uke and seto's just... being seto?

haha, i'd write more, but i'm really not feeling too well and it's about 2.11 am w and i have school in the morning. anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you for reading!

**please don't forget to review, subscribe, whatever! thank you!!**

**EDIT: **haha, so in my rush to get off the computer last night, i realised i forgot to give this chapter a name! my suspicions were right by the way! like, with me saying i wasn't feeling well. about 20 minutes after i posted this, i went and threw my guts up a good few times - yay! at least it got me a day off school haha!

but yeah, sorry for being so... blunt with my notes last night, haha i guess i'm allowed though considering i wasn't feeling great. n__n;

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**Chapter Ten - I Didn't Lie**

He woke up alone.

Amber eyes slowly drew open as the boy stirred from his slumber, a gentle, comforting warmth cloaking him in a lovely fuzzy feeling. Contently, he sighed, rolling over onto his other side so that the sunlight could now bathe his back. Nothing seemed out of the norm for him, except for the fact that he was feeling slightly sore and yet more comfortable and relaxed than he had been in a long time. His eyes were closed again as the boy gave back into the temptation of sleep, having a mental fight with himself to get up. A lazy, complacent smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he let out a sigh, finally snapping his eyes open to look around what he thought was his own room. It hit him hard: he was in Seto's bedroom. Panicked, the blonde jolted upright, flustered and blushing at the fact that he was completely naked, with no covers on him. There was a strangled cry, his throat tight and stinging, and desperately he snatched at the blankets, covering his dignity while he had the chance. Memories of last nights encounter flooded back into his mind - Shizuka and Mokuba asking for a sleepover, the walk in the garden, their first kiss, and then apparently, the sex. His cheeks grew warmer as he looked about for his shirt, found a pair of black jogging bottoms and a plain, loose fitting white shirt folded up on the small side table next to him. His clothes were no where to be found, but right now, that was the last of his concerns. Firstly, where was Seto? Shouldn't he still be here, waiting for him to wake up? That would have been the romantic thing. And secondly, probably more importantly: where were Shizuka and Mokuba?

Hurriedly, the now concerned Jounouchi flung himself down the stairs, leaping two or three or four at a time as he went. Blonde hair was messier than usual, his fringe greasy from the sweat that previously coated his forehead, and he could even smell his own body odour, but it didn't bother him. He was actually quite pissed off at the fact that Seto had just left him like that, naked in his bed, but at the same time, he was probably thinking the same as Jou with the whole sibling matter at hand. He was now wearing the clothes that he assumed Seto had left out for him, but it didn't hide the fact that he was pretty battered up (from last nights incidents but his sister was not to know that) and was more flustered than usual. "Where the hell..." he grumbled, attempting to clear the scratchy lump in his throat that was agitating him, but to no avail. God, was he really making all that much noise last night? He blushed furiously, slamming a fist against the closest wall absent-mindedly as he floated about, completely lost. He had no idea what time it was or where anyone was, so when he heard the faint sounds of laughter coming from down the hall... he was more than relieved.

"Jou!" Shizuka greeted as soon as she spotted her brother sauntering around in the doorway, obviously at un-ease at whether to enter or retreat back upstairs, but it was clearly to late for that option. The blonde forced a smile as he quietly stepped in, gaze never leaving Seto, who never once turned around to greet - or even look at - him. The blonde frowned as he quietly took a seat next to Seto, saying nothing as his sister too returned to her perch next to Mokuba. "Good morning!" she smiled brightly, picking her spoonful of omelette back up as she watched her brother, her smile soon melting into the form of a frown. She could tell something was wrong. Mokuba too picked up on the blonde's mood, shifting nervously in his seat. Seto just ignored him to the best of his abilities, gaze never leaving the newspaper that he clutched in one hand, a mug of coffee in the other. Crest-fallen, Jounouchi averted his own gaze down to the table, grunting a mere 'morning' to his sister. "Jou..." she paused, glancing over at Mokuba momentarily. "Are you... alright?"  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." the blonde re-assured his sister, waving a hand at her dismissively. All four of them knew he was lying, but no one said anything. Shizuka simply nodded, before going back to eating her omelette.  
"Oh!" Mokuba piped up, leaping out of his chair. Momentarily, Seto glanced up from his paper, eyebrow raised at his brother's sudden outburst. "Are you hungry, Jou?" he grinned, watching as the blonde wrinkled his nose at the question. Surprisingly, no, he wasn't, he was more pissed off and upset to even care about food right now. "I can get the cook to make you something if you like--"  
"I'm alright, thanks, Mokuba." he forced a smile, not wanting to come off rude to the younger boy, although it was obvious Jou wasn't in the mood for talking. He heard the brunette next to him sigh, causing him to grow even angrier and the fact that he was simply ignoring him after having sex with him last night. Fists curled into tight balls under the table as he sat there awkwardly, trying to lean away from the blue-eyed CEO next to him. Seto seemed oblivious, but the two opposite picked up on the atmosphere almost immediately.

"Anyway," Seto finally stated as he placed his newspaper down, commanding attention from everyone, even Jou. "I have some reports that need to be finished. Shizuka," he addressed the blonde's sister, but not the actual blonde. "When you and your brother wish to go home, please just ask Mokuba to call you a car." and with that, the CEO stood, not once looking down at his forlorn puppy as he strode off, leaving the room silent. Shizuka cringed as Jou too flew off his chair, kicking it backwards and causing it to fall over as he literally dived after the boy who had just left.  
"Jeez... what the hell did they do to each other last night?" the raven-haired boy sighed, completely oblivious to what really went on. Shizuka nodded in agreement, sighing as she pushed her food about on her plate.

Silently, and consciously of the fact that their siblings were just down the hallway, the two walked in silence, Jounouchi dragging behind Seto ever-so slightly, not wanting to walk directly at his side. He was fuming! _'What the hell is his fucking problem!'_ he thought acidicly to himself as he glared daggers into the back of Seto's head, the boy remaining silent as a statue. _'Fucking asshole! Who does he think he is? Doing all that to me last night - telling me he loved me - and then just ignoring me?! Is he trying to be funny?' _the sharp sting of tears began to nip at the back of his eyes. _'How could he..._' he frowned as his mood completely changed, from one of an angry exterior to one of a more upset, hurt feel. _'Was he lying to me just so he could have sex with me...?'_

The pair arrived at Seto's office suddenly, the brunette stopping at the doorway, and Jou, not really paying attention as he was too caught up in his own thoughts, walked right into him. He yelped, throwing himself backwards in shock. Seto did nothing; he didn't even seem to acknowledge the boy's existence as he pushed the door open and strode in. Even though he seemed to be ignoring Jounouchi, he left the door open, as if inviting the boy to come in... and he did. Now tired of this game, the blonde too stepped into the room, slamming the door behind him. The CEO sighed again, seating himself down in the executive looking chair that was stored behind his main desk. The brunette propped himself up on his elbows, massing his temples with one hand, eyes rolling to the back of his head.  
"What the fuck is your problem?" the blonde snarled, tones wavering, obviously uneasy.  
"What are you talking about, dog?" Jou seemed taken back by this, jolting back slightly, as if a knife had just been plunged into his chest. It might as well have: the words hurt just as much.  
"What am I talking about?!" he repeated, now furious. He flew over to Seto's desk, slamming both fists down on the wooden surface, causing the CEO to jump slightly. Finally, he had his attention. "What the fuck do you think I'm fucking talking about?!" Jou cried, kicking one of the legs of the desk as he did so. "I'm talking about you ignoring me all fucking morning!"  
"Do you have to be so childish?" was the simply reply he got. Jou didn't know what to do: hit him or just to burst into hysterical crying. He fell silent, trying to control his emotions. "Hm?"  
"Childish?!" the boy roared, swiping his arm across the desk, knocking off various trays and files. They fell to the floor with an ugly crash, Seto wincing as he watched his work being demolished. "I'm being fucking childish?! How can you even say that?" Now annoyed, Seto slowly stood up, placing both hands on his desk as he glared at the blonde, who's own glare never faltered.  
"This is what I hate about you, Jounouchi," he snarled, tones dangerously low. Jou scowled back, trying to hide his hurt. "you're so quick to get annoyed, so quick to start throwing insults about like a child." Seto paused, raising to his full height, steely blue eyes cutting straight through Jounouchi's own, amber orbs now filling with tears. "Don't you realise that in front of our siblings, we can't act any different to how we usually act. Are you that stupid?" his insults sliced right through him. "They can't know, no one can. What happened last night..." he paused. "stays between us, and only us. Mokuba and Shizuka can't know." Jou was speechless. He was now completely exposed, mouth gaping as he tried to process what Seto had just said to him. How could be possibly be so cold, so harsh, after telling him only last night that he loved him? The blonde slowly started to back off, hands reaching out behind him for the door handle. Seto frowned, rounding the corner of his desk as he took a step towards his shaking pup. "Jou..." he started, before the blonde took off at a tremendous speed, the door slamming against the opposite wall as it was opened with such force, and all he could hear was the quick patter of footsteps as they dashed up the stairs. Seto groaned, leaning against the now dented wall as he once more began to massage his temples. "Shit."

* * *

He felt like an idiot, he really did. Running away from Seto like that, in his own home, and then going back to his bedroom? He actually wished - begged - that the floor would simply swallow him up and place him somewhere else... like his own house, maybe. That would have been highly appreciated right now. He sat hunched over himself on the bed, now freely crying into his hands. If he had thought that Seto would follow, he would have hidden somewhere with a lock, but in his own mind, he personally couldn't see an apologetic CEO following after him, begging for forgiveness. No: he certainly couldn't. He whimpered into his palms as he rubbed desperately at his eyes, not wanting to cry anymore. But the tears kept flowing, at his sobs grew louder and louder. Yes; he felt like an idiot.

The blonde nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard the sound of the handle being twisted. Panic flashed over his face as he quickly tried to dry his eyes, wiping his sleeve violently across his swollen, puffy face. "Pup...?" a familiar voice called quietly, Seto's head appearing around the door. Jou didn't turn to look at him, and he hoped more than anything that Seto would just fuck off... but that wasn't going to happen. "Jounouchi..." the brunette sighed, now entering the room and quietly shutting the door behind him. He made his way over to the bed, awkwardly seating himself on the opposite corner of it to Jounouchi. He got no reply, but then again, he didn't expect one. A frown adorned his features as he now crawled onto the bed, coming up behind the smaller boy before he wrapped his long, thin arms about Jou's just as equally thin body, in an apologetic, gentle hug.  
"Don't." the blonde said simply, shrugging Seto off. "Just... Don't." he repeated, this time more sternly. Seto sighed at his puppy's dramatics, but he did not hug him again. He backed off slightly, but still remained behind him.  
"Look, pup, what I said to you just then..." he took in a sharp inhale of air. "it came out wrong. Totally wrong. It wasn't intended to sound so harsh."  
"And yet for some reason, it was. If you didn't want it to be, it wouldn't." Jou retorted simply, sniffling quietly to himself.  
"True, but, you were acting rather childish and you can't deny that." Seto paused warily, watching the blonde for a moment before continuing. "Jou, I'm--"  
"You're what? Sorry?" the boy tried to sneer, but as soon as he turned to face the brunette, he immediately began to sob again, this time allowing himself to be bundled up into Seto's arms. Weakly, he began to bat at the CEO's chest, obviously not intending to cause any real harm. "You're horrible!" he cried, eyes squeezed shut. "You're so terrible to me! You told me you loved me!" the blonde wailed hysterically, causing Seto to panic slightly at his words, and moreover, his tone of voice. He tried to calm his puppy down, stroking at his hair and trying to kiss his tears away, but nothing worked. Alarmed, the brunette scooped the boy up into his arms and began to cradle him, not sure on what else he could really do with the currently hysterical boy. "You told me you loved me, and you lied!"  
"I did not lie," he said suddenly, sternly. This caused Jou to calm down slightly, but he was still sobbing away into Seto's shoulder, sniffling and whimpering to himself pathetically. "Katsuya, I did not lie to you." in one last attempt to calm the boy down, he grabbed him by the chin between his thump and forefinger, tilting his head up demandingly, so for the first time this morning, they could make eye contact. The two paused, cool aqua meeting panicked amber. Their lips were brought together in a soft kiss, Jou's eyes widening, one last tear rolling down his cheek. "I promise you," Seto continued as their kiss ended. "I did not lie."  
"T-Then why were you s-so cold to me this m-morning..." the blonde sniffled as he looped his arms around Seto's neck, now less psycho than he was a minute ago. "it r-really hurt..."  
"I'm sorry, pup. I'm so sorry," the usually cold, emotionless CEO apologized, brushing away the boy's tears with his thumb, kissing gently at his tearstained face. "I didn't know what to do. I guess I... panicked." he sighed, rocking his puppy back and forth gently. "I guess I just froze when I saw you... I was scared they knew." Jou understood the fact that both Shizuka and Mokuba could never know, at least not yet, not so young and not so early into their relationship, but he still didn't understand why Seto had to be so cruel about it. Silently, he watched the brunette as he tried to compose himself. _'It's... it's just his nature.'_ the blonde thought to himself, still watching Seto through watery eyes. _'When he faces a problem he doesn't know how to solve... he panics... like me. He just didn't know what to do.' _Slowly, ever so slowly, a soft smile crept onto Jou's features, and this certainly didn't know amiss with Seto. The brunette looked back down at his puppy, mirroring his smile before placing perhaps the softest kiss known to man on Jounouchi's nose. "I'm sorry, Katsuya. Forgive me... I..." he paused, a gentle blush coating his cheeks. "I love you." Jounouchi's felt his eyes welling up once more, but not out of sadness. Almost grinning, the blonde brought Seto closer in a tight hug before pulling away, now bringing their lips together in a long, passionate kiss.  
"I do, I forgive you," Jounouchi smiled, forehead resting against Seto's, thankful azure eyes peering into those of relieved brown. "I love you too, Seto." they kissed once more before simply sitting there, basking in the sunlight as one, both sets of eyes slowly closing.

"Oh... and, erm, I'm sorry about... trashing your office..."  
"Shut up, mutt, and enjoy the moment."


End file.
